Starlight, Star Bright
by muggleborn.dragon.ryder
Summary: What with a stranger washing up on Berk, taking a special interest in his son (and being completely annoying!) and news of Outcast activity reaching his ears, Stoick the Vast is uncharacteristically uneasy. Sequel to 'To Be Loved the Way You Love Me'.
1. No Reason

Starlight, Star Bright - The Story of a Fool, Through an Even Bigger Fool's Eyes

_What with a stranger washing up on Berk and taking a special interest in his son and news of Outcast activity reaching his ears, Stoick the Vast is uncharacteristically uneasy. Sequel to 'To Be Loved the Way You Love Me'. _

Chapter 1: No Reason

**Well, here is my sequel. The title is kind of long, so I'm thinking I'll just call it 'Starlight, Star Bright' for short. Huh? Huh? Huh? What do you think?**

* * *

It was supposed to be February, and winter on Berk was supposed to last for most of the year, but I was baking in the forge. I shed my vest and rolled up the sleeves of my green shirt, wiping my forehead free of sweat.

Gobber's face was pink with the heat as well and he stopped every few minutes to wipe his forehead free of sweat.

I focused on my work for about ten more minutes before remembering that in exactly seven days, I would be seventeen. I kind of smiled at the thought. Heck, I wasn't even sure it was seventeen; it could have been sixteen for all I knew.

I wasn't completely sure how old I was because of how I'd spent the last six years, but I knew exactly what day it was now and I knew it was only seven days until the leap year.

It wasn't like anything was going to happen for it – heck, no one on Berk even knew my birth date. It didn't matter. A birthday was still a birthday.

I'd heard about other kids getting parties and things, but I'd never gotten that. My mom – well, actually, I guess she wasn't really my mom after all – sneaked me a leather notebook once for one of my birthdays, because she knew how much I loved reading and writing. But she'd died a long time ago and now all of her secret smiles and winks were gone.

Technically, I guess she wasn't really my mom. My real mom was Valhallarama of the White Arms, but I had grown up with Freydis the Fearsome. My real dad was Stoick the Vast, but I'd grown up with Alvin.

I knew he couldn't hurt me, but my fingers stilled on the weapon I was trying to repair. I knew it was silly. Alvin couldn't get to me. I should've felt safe. I had people who were willing to protect me here. But, even though I knew, in my heart of hearts, that Stoick would fight tooth and nail to keep me on Berk, I would always get that little flash of fear when I remembered Alvin. Whenever I pictured his sneering face in my mind, I felt a flash of panic and I didn't want it.

I glanced over for just a moment at Gobber, who hadn't even looked over. I looked back down at my work and I heard Gobber speaking to me. Lifting my head again, I looked at him. "Yeah?"

"Stoick might be being gentle with ya, lad, but yer not getting off o' this one. C'mon. Keep working."

I smiled, shaking my head at Gobber's silly antics. "I wasn't thinking of getting a break, actually," I confessed. Actually, for the first time in a long time, the new addition to my body – the metal contraption protruding from my pants leg where my foot should be – was about the last thing on my mind.

I glanced down at the leg, glancing for a second over at the chair in the corner of the forge. The chair had suddenly appeared there after I lost my leg – Gobber had wordlessly told me that he understood how painful it was and how rough people expected you to still be after it.

Seeing as I didn't do well with words, either, I had let the care he'd put into making the forge more comfortable for me an unspoken subject, but I was still grateful to him. Just like Stoick and the others, he was doing too much for me – more than I deserved, anyway.

I glanced over at Gobber again – I knew he would hear the scraping of the chair. But, I reluctantly decided, glancing at my leg, sometimes, relief from the pain felt better than keeping your pride.

I slowly began to drag the chair over to my work place and Gobber took one look at me. He came over to help, dragging it over a particularly uneven patch of wooden floor, letting it rest in front of my desk.

"Thanks," I muttered, plopping down in the seat and picking up my tools again.

He a put a hand on my back. "It'll get better."

I knew he meant my leg.

I rubbed at it self-consciously, though I knew that there was no need to feel ashamed of my pain or injury around Gobber: the blacksmith was missing an arm and a leg himself.

Gobber stood there for another second and then he went back over to his own desk. My sleeves kept slipping down over my work, so I had to pause every few minutes to roll them up again.

Speaking of being ashamed of pain or injury…I thought to myself as my eyes landed on the scars. I had hundreds of them all over my body. On my back and chest and stomach and hands, my arms and legs and face and neck…

I turned my eyes back to my work, vowing not to think of that.

A few minutes later, however, my work was cut short again by Gobber sighing loudly and emphatically. "Oh, look at this – Stoick must have gotten off early. _Again._ What a _surprise."_

The door flew open and Stoick the Vast came into the forge. He was eight feet, three inches tall and I didn't think he knew how to do anything quietly.

When he talked, you knew who was speaking. When he yelled, you knew it wasn't good.

There was a gentle side to him as well, though – there was a part of him that didn't constantly have the somber, sad look. There was a part of him that was softened by laughter and smiles. But you rarely ever got to see that side, because he was so busy being a tough Viking chief.

I'd only ever witnessed it a few times.

He looked around the forge for a second and greeted Gobber with a, "Well, you must've been busy." His eyes flickered over to me for half a second and it made me feel weak to realize I was sitting down.

I stood suddenly as Stoick continued, "I'm taking Hiccup home now. Alright, Gobber?"

Gobber looked sullen about this, but he nodded.

"Nice to know I have a lot of fat hairy choice," I said sarcastically, turning Stoick's gaze on me.

"Well, Hiccup, frankly, you limp home every night, dead on your feet and you practically collapse from exhaustion – when I'm there to see it, of course. When I'm not, you sit up until I get home."

"I can't…" I stopped myself, looking down at the floor and deciding not to finish that sentence. The truth was, I couldn't really sleep if Stoick was there. I fell asleep, sure – but Alvin always sneered at me in my dreams, warning me he was going to get me again, telling me I was never getting away.

I hated the nightmares and I tried my best to stay awake to see Stoick, even if he didn't offer me any comfort – and it wasn't like I asked him to, either. Like I said, I'm not very good with words. If I could just tell somebody what I'm thinking and feeling without having to say it, I'd be quite the talker.

He probably didn't even know I was having nightmares. I blew out a breath and Stoick let it go.

"You need to give yourself a break, Hiccup," he informed me. "You can't keep going like this. You're running yourself into the ground. And you haven't even given your leg time to heal yet."

I tried to think up a good argument, but, unfortunately, I took too long.

"He's right, lad," Gobber put in. "You need to give it at least a few weeks before you're runnin' around, flying and training again."

I sent him a dirty look. "I'm doing _fine_," I emphasized.

Stoick looked disbelieving. "Look," he said quietly, "if you—

"What Stoick's trying to say is that if you run yourself into the ground, they're going to look at me," Gobber interrupted impatiently.

Stoick sent him an annoyed look. Gobber shrugged nonchalantly.

Stoick huffed and swept from the room, obviously expecting me to follow. I started to, with a few eye rolls and annoyed breaths myself, but Gobber stopped me halfway there.

"Don't be too offended about Stoick," he told me. "You have to remember, he hasn't had you for sixteen years. It's his job as your father to look after you. And seeing as he hasn't done that for your whole life, I think he's trying to, now."

Before I could even formulate a response, Gobber had shoved me out the door and slammed it behind me. I could tell I was going to get an earful about leaving the forge early the next day, but it didn't matter. Gobber hardly ever meant it.

A sharp pain seared suddenly through my leg and I bit my lip to stop myself from crying out, sitting down on the steps of the forge to rub at my leg. Stoick appeared around the corner and when he saw me, his expression softened in concern. "Your leg's hurting you?"

I nodded wordlessly. I forced myself to stand and limp alongside him as best as I could. On the way home, we didn't talk much, but that was alright. I was used to silence from him and he was used to it from me. Actually, normally, we kept so quiet because we had Gobber chatting between us – gossiping about somebody or other in the village, somebody we'd likely never meet or didn't care about, but Gobber still liked to spread gossip anyway.

I suppose we'd gotten so used to him that we didn't feel any need to talk. In fact, the only thing Stoick did was glance down at my leg and offer to carry me.

Everything in me balked at the idea of letting myself be carried. "Uh…I think I'll be alright," I told him, rubbing at the stump.

"You've overdone it enough," Stoick informed me in a hard voice. "If you can make it to the house, I'll be very surprised."

I could normally count on Toothless to help me, but right now, he wasn't here. The last time I'd seen him, he'd been playing with a Nadder that Stoick said had come from the Kill Ring.

I knew some people of Berk were still uncertain about dragons, but Stoick had freed the ones from the Kill Ring. Ordinarily, they would've flown off, but the other teens of Berk had gotten it into their heads to train them and befriend them. Occasionally, they'd still call me for help with them, but they didn't need it so much anymore.

As far as I knew, the Nadder belonged to Astrid – tough, blonde and good at everything. She'd asked me to help her train the Nadder only after she'd watched me do the same with Snotlout and his Monstrous Nightmare and after she'd witnessed Toothless and I and the Nightmare and Snotlout fly several times. It surprised me that that was what had made her warm to them, but whatever it was, it was good she had at all.

Astrid's path rarely ever crossed with mine, but lately, I'd begun really enjoying the times that it did – so much, in fact, that sometimes I would accidentally-on-purpose run into her in the village and strike up a conversation. Those afternoons were the best, because Astrid had finally stopped staring coldly at me whenever I approached her. She actually smiled at me these days. A smile spread over my own face when I thought about hers.

I tried shaking off my thoughts when I realized Stoick had glanced over at me and seen me smiling to myself for no reason at all. My cheeks heated a little and I sped up. The pain in my leg was now starting to recede and it offered me a sense of victory, that I had made it all the way to his house.

Technically, we weren't there yet – but I could see the roof in the distance and I quickened my pace a little.

And, also, it was supposedly my house too, but that made me feel weird to call it mine, especially considering it hadn't been mine for sixteen years.

When I reached the doorstep, the pain had come back a little, and I was ten minutes behind the chief. I reached the steps and sank down on the porch, yawning a little.

Stoick looked down at me. "Aren't you coming inside?"

I offered him a tired smile. "No. I think I'll sit out here and wait for Toothless to come back."

It was only dusk, but I was already tired enough to sleep for the rest of the night. Toothless normally showed up wherever we'd parted ways because lately, he had begun joining other dragons more and more. It wasn't that we were growing apart – in fact, this was the longest he'd stayed away from me since we'd arrived on Berk last summer. He was still my best friend and he was still always there for me, but we didn't spend every waking moment in each other's company or automatically panic when we were separated. In fact, the last time Toothless and I hadn't seen each other for awhile, I'd felt at ease about it, because I knew Gobber was taking care of him.

No matter where we went or what we did in the daytime, though, nighttime was our special time. We flew around the island every evening at sunset and continued until the sky was literally pitch-black. In fact, considering it was dusk, Toothless should be showing up to go flying with me anytime soon.

He did just that about ten minutes later, smiling at me hopefully. I offered him a tired smile and rubbed his head comfortingly, but he took one look at me and his gaze turned stern.

"What?" I demanded and then I looked down at myself, wondering what had upset him. The only thing he could've been looking at was my leg. The thought reminded me of Gobber and Stoick in the forge today and I rubbed at the painful stump. "Not you, too," I groaned at him.

Toothless huffed.

"I'm fine," I told him, making to stand. A searing pain shot through my leg, but I tried my best not to show it. I could tell I failed when he glared at me.

"I'm fine," I repeated. "C'mon, let's go."

Toothless gave me a long look.

"My leg will feel better if we go flying," I wheedled.

Toothless saw right through that one, that much was clear; but he reluctantly let me climb on him without too much argument and he even licked my cheek when we'd returned from our flight, showing me he wasn't too annoyed with me.

I knew Stoick was probably asleep, so I tried to be quiet as I entered the house. I gently pushed open the door so it wouldn't creak.

We were quiet up until the point Toothless and I looked at each other. And then I whispered, "Race you."

The stairs creaked as we ran – he beat me by only seconds. He gave me a smug look. I replied by grabbing the blanket off my bed and lobbing it at him.

He ducked the blanket and curled up next to the bed.

I grabbed the thin red blanket and curled up beside him, using his back for my pillow. He reached out a wing, wrapping me in it like a blanket. He breathed a few smoke rings through his nose to warm me and I scooted closer to him, clinging tight.

My eyes only remained open for seconds afterward.


	2. Good to Be Back

Starlight, Star Bright - The Story of a Fool, Through an Even Bigger Fool's Eyes

_What with a stranger washing up on Berk and taking a special interest in his son and news of Outcast activity reaching his ears, Stoick the Vast is uncharacteristically uneasy. Sequel to 'To Be Loved the Way You Love Me'._

Chapter 2: Good to Be Back

**You have no idea how much I enjoyed writing this, especially Stoick in this xD **

* * *

The next day, I was only awoken by the opening and closing of the front door as Stoick got up. I squeezed my eyes tighter shut, snuggling closer to Toothless. He was so warm. He scooted me closer, nuzzling me with his nose, trying to lull me back to sleep.

I was already getting tired again when I looked out the window and realized how high the sun was in the sky and I was wide awake again. I jerked away from Toothless and swore loudly; he looked at curiously.

"I overslept!" I told him by way of explanation and he nodded. I rushed downstairs and he followed me, though at a much slower pace. I grabbed my vest and boot from by the door and pulled the boot on while trying to do up the vest at the same time, tripping all over myself on the way.

I fell halfway through the process and nearly hit the ground before he caught me by his neck. He dropped me into his paws, slowly lowering me onto the floor.

"Thanks, bud," I breathed, righting myself. I pushed open the door quickly and it flew open with ease.

I was so busy running that I actually ran – literally – into Astrid Hofferson. Her axe went spinning out of her hand and, by some cruelly mortifying twist of fate, she wound up on top of me. One of her hands was pressed, palm down, against the ground and the other was resting on my cheek.

I stared up at her for a second and said, "Good morning."

Her mouth threatened a smile. She attempted to extricate herself, but the worst part was that her legs were tangled in mine and she couldn't get up. She reached down and pulled her boot out from between my legs. She attempted to right herself again, but only ended up falling back.

"Uh…your…your skirt," I managed, blushing furiously. "I think the hem…edge…thing… is caught in my, uh…you know…leg thing." The heat in my cheeks intensified.

She glanced down at her skirt. "Oh." she yanked it out of the prosthetic's lever and stood, offering me her hand.

I slowly took it, trying to dust myself off and look nonchalant. My face was burning and I was sure it was glowing like a stop sign.

I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. "So, um…yeah."

She reached down to pick up her axe. "Sorry about that. Wasn't looking where I was going, I guess." she offered me a smile.

"Um…yeah…okay."

She started to walk away before looking back and calling, "Oh, and Hiccup?"

"Yeah?" I tried to lower my voice so nobody else would hear our conversation, but she didn't seem to care. She did bridge the gap between us again, but I think that was for more my benefit than hers.

"Next time you wanna talk to me, just tell me good morning." she joked.

When she walked away, I exchanged a look with Toothless. "Well, that could've gone better."

* * *

"What have you got behind your back?" I asked accusingly as I let myself into the forge. Gobber was facing me, his back to his table, awkwardly clutching something behind his back. "Nothin'," he lied.

"I wasn't born yesterday," I informed him, shutting the door behind me. A blast of cold wind blew in as I shut the door and I shivered as I made my way over to my desk. I tried to peer around Gobber's back, but he shifted it out of my sight.

"_Nothing_," he emphasized.

I wanted to press him, but I shrugged it off. Hey, I was the same way – I was private about my creations until I was absolutely sure that they weren't going to screw up.

Gobber sighed. "Fine." he said quietly and I looked up, pleased that I was going to get it out of him.

"It's not finished yet," he grumbled. "And I wanted it to be a surprise."

"I can keep a secret," I promised eagerly. "I won't tell anybody."

He chuckled lightly. "It's for you, Hiccup. That's why I didn't want to say anything."

"Oh." My cheeks reddened. "Why are you making something for me?" It just didn't seem very Gobber-esque to do something nice for me no reason at all. I nervously hoped that, whatever he wanted from me wasn't going to be too bad.

"You can't say you forgot." Gobber told me with a look. "Your birthday is next week."

"What—how did you—?" I stumbled badly over my words, glancing back down at my work as my blush deepened. "How did you even know?"

He winked mysteriously. "I have my ways."

He dropped his mysterious air. "Actually, no, Stoick mentioned something about it a few days ago. You were born on Berk, or don't you remember?"

"Oh. Yeah." I mumbled. "You don't have to do anything for me, Gobber."

"Well, you certainly don't deserve it, kid," he told me.

I rolled my eyes, deciding to ignore the jab. "You don't have to do anything for me, Gobber. It's not that big of a deal."

"Well, it's not every day your apprentice turns…eh…" his brow wrinkled. "How old are you gonna be?"

"Seventeen," I replied promptly. "But I mean it, Gobber, please. Don't do anything."

"Too late," Gobber told me cheerfully. "Besides, Stoick's gonna do something anyway. Stop me if you can, but you won't get through to him." he grinned.

"He's not allowed to do anything for me, either," I huffed.

Gobber just shook his head, lips curling up into a pleased smile. His look had an emotion I couldn't quite define and then it hit me: smugness.

"You know what he's doing for me," I said at once.

Gobber shook his head.

"What is it?" I demanded.

"I don't know." Gobber replied, quickly chucking whatever he was working on for me behind his desk and picking up his tools to turn back to his work. "He doesn't tell me these things."

"You know." I declared. "Just tell me, please?" I tilted my head and widened my eyes innocently, but unfortunately, this was wasted: Gobber didn't even look up.

I blew out an annoyed breath and Gobber's concentration on his work lessened a little; he smiled slightly again, shaking his head as he raised his gaze to meet mine.

Determined not to give him what he wanted, I picked up my own tools and shrugged. "Fine. I bet you don't even know what it is. Stoick probably doesn't trust you not to tell me."

"That's right, he didn't," Gobber replied cheerfully.

There was a silence.

"That's a lie. Please tell me." I said.

Gobber chuckled, shaking his head in utter disbelief at my antics before there was the sound of a crash from outside.

Gobber glanced up at the door. "What in the world—?"

And then it came again: another crash, followed by a scraping noise.

Gobber opened the door and stepped out into the late winter sunlight, shielding his eyes against it as he gazed out. Immediately, I saw what we were looking for. A boat was scraping against a few rocks, wedged between them. The man in the boat was attractive; elegant blonde hair went past his shoulders and, when he lifted his head, his blue eyes seemed to twinkle with amusement.

Gobber smiled at the man. "Oh, that man."

He ran forward and into the ocean and together he and the man managed to work the boat out from between the rocks and onto the sand. When they let it go and it shook for a couple seconds on the beach, I noticed the problem: there was a huge hole in the bottom.

A crowd had gathered now by the water's edge, everybody yelling hearty greetings to the blonde man, who puffed out his chest and smiled charmingly at the crowd.

"So glad to have you back!" Spitelout called and the man smiled warmly.

"It's good to be back," he said with sincerity.

Stoick came striding over then, brows drawn down into a thunderous scowl. He looked at the man with distaste, resting a hand on the hilt of his sword as he drew nearer. Immediately, the man stopped waving and yelling to the crowd; he stiffened, standing perfectly still.

"Humongous." Stoick greeted him coldly. "Another holed boat?"

"Ah, I don't know what it is with my bad luck," Humongous attempted a smile, but the tension in his face was clear. "This is my sixth one in two months."

The name began to sink in: _Humongous._

"What a shame," Stoick commented, but he didn't sound at all sympathetic.

"Whoa!" I blurted. "You're _Humongously Hotshot the Hero!" _

Humongously Hotshot the Hero was the bravest, strongest, toughest, truest, coolest hero in the Archipelago. I had ever even met him before today, but news about his Hero business had reached my ears all the same.

Humongous turned to me and I realized how loudly I'd said it; I blushed and covered my mouth, suddenly aware of how shabby I looked next to him.

I expected him to say something rude to me, but all he did was smile kindly at me, brushing a few stray hairs off my forehead. "And who might you be?"

"H-hiccup," I stuttered. Again, I expected something different – derisive laughter at my name, maybe.

Humongous patted my head. "Well, then, little Hiccup, thank you for announcing me. I shall have to get somebody with a voice as memorable as yours to do it next time."

I blushed even deeper, staring determinedly at my boots.

"Stoick." Humongous gently took his hands away, turning back to the chief. "I merely wanted to know if you could house me for a few days. I do not eat much, as I assured you last time." he patted his stomach and the crowd tittered.

Stoick looked sour. His eyes raked his village and he sighed, like it was torture for him. "Yes." he muttered between tightly clenched teeth.

Humongous clapped his hands. "Jolly good, jolly good! May I have the tools to build my boat, if you still have any? I have the feeling I took rather a lot from you on my last visit."

"Yes." Stoick muttered.

"Thank you very much!" Humongous beamed, sinking into a deep bow.

Immediately, the crowd swarmed him again, shrieking.

* * *

When I reached home that day, Stoick wasn't back. When he did get back, he collapsed into a chair at the kitchen table and glared down at the tabletop like he hated every inch of it.

"What's wrong?" I asked, sinking into the chair opposite him.

"Nothing," he sniffed.

"You're not…" I gave him a look. "You're not angry with Humongous, are you?" My mind flickered back to his odd behavior with Humongous earlier that day.

Stoick growled something under his breath about "that man" and stomped around the kitchen as he began to make dinner. "That man…" he muttered bitterly. "…death of me…ugh…kids on Berk…what it takes these days…I hate it…ugh…and of course, to make it worse, every kid on Berk just adores him!" he slammed two bowls down on the table and a bit of stew leaked out onto the table.

I scooted back a little to avoid the hot liquid and his bitter insults.

"I don't even understand why," Stoick grumbled and I realized he was talking about Humongous.

"Don't understand why what?" I asked, hesitantly picking up my spoon, not wanting to eat until his tirade was over.

"The children of Berk just _love_ him!" Stoick burst out angrily again, but luckily, he had nothing to slam anymore.

"Yeah, that's because he's _cool_," I informed him.

He blinked at me and then clapped a hand to his forehead, groaning. "Not you, too!"

"Not me too what?" I demanded. "What?" I repeated impatiently, for Stoick seemed in no hurry to answer.

"You've been bitten," Stoick announced dramatically, like it was the most tragic story ever, "by the Humongous bug!"

"The…the what?" I laughed, unsure whether it was a joke or not.

"Every child on Berk," he explained, "from five to sixteen, is in danger of getting it! It's this stupid little thing where they run around thinking he's the greatest thing since helmets or something. It's completely stupid of course and there'll be no living with you now that you've caught it."

"I haven't been bitten by any bug!" I told him crossly.

"You wait," he said. "Within a few days, the only thing I'll hear coming out of your mouth will be 'Humongous this' or 'Humongous that'. I know it."


	3. Bitter

Starlight, Star Bright - The Story of a Fool, Through an Even Bigger Fool's Eyes

_What with a stranger washing up on Berk and taking a special interest in his son and news of Outcast activity reaching his ears, Stoick the Vast is uncharacteristically uneasy. Sequel to 'To Be Loved the Way You Love Me'._

Chapter 3: Bitter

**Ah, well. This chapter does absolutely nothing for the story in terms of plot, except maybe a little bit at the beginning. But I really don't care, I think it's a light, fluffy chapter between Hiccup and Gobber, and so I like it.**

* * *

When I entered the forge the next morning, Humongous was there with Gobber, chatting carelessly to the man. Gobber was listening, but he had his eyes on his work as he sharpened Humongous' sword.

Humongous flicked a piece of blonde hair out of his eyes and waved cheerily at me. "You're Hiccup, right?" he stopped me as I attempted to pass him, putting one hand on my shoulder.

"Um…uh…yes," I managed. "The, um…the announcer…you know…because I spoke…while you were talking…um…yeah." I trailed off.

Humongous smiled, tilting his head. "Forgive me – Hiccup Horrendous Haddock? Hiccup the Third?"

"Yes," I nodded.

"I've heard tell," he said nonchalantly, "that Stoick is your father. But…I've never seen you before on any of my visits. Maybe he keeps you locked up." he suggested it with a careless grin, but I shuddered slightly at his choice of words.

"I'm…I'm sure he doesn't," he added quickly, his face darkening slightly as he took in my expression. Something bitter flickered in his eyes when he saw my face, and I thought I heard him mumble something, but I didn't quite catch what he said.

"Right," Gobber interrupted, shoving Humongous' sword into his hands, "'ere ya are."

"Thank you, Gobber!" boomed Humongous. Though Gobber had thrust it blade-first into his hand, he somehow sliced it neatly through the air while switching so he held the hilt. It was a fine blade, gleaming metal with a golden hilt. I studied it for a second; though I complained nonstop about Gobber some days, I loved the work and I loved seeing weapons made with as much care as these.

"I think your fan club's waiting," Gobber told him, gesturing to the forge door.

Humongous smiled and shook his head. "Oh, I don't know so much about fan club, Gobber. More like a small group of people who greatly admire the type of work I do and almost idolize those who perform it. Not admiration for me, of course."

When he turned his gaze on me again, I found myself breathing a slight sigh of relief when I saw that his eyes had turned back to normal. Bitterness didn't look right on him.

He stretched his arms above his head, bringing it back down to examine his sword. "I didn't have a blacksmith like you when I was going on the Quest to the Rude-Boys. I must remember to conveniently crash here more often." he grinned, displaying a dimple.

"The Quest to the Rude-Boys?" I looked up from my work. "I've heard about that one!"

"Aye, that's surprising," he nodded. "That's one of my lesser known Quests."

"A-are you kidding?" I stuttered, leaning against the work desk. "That one was the talk of the village for at least five months! And your one to the island of Hysteria…"

Humongous bowed his head in modesty. "I don't think my Quests were that admirable."

"Of course they were," I told him, staring at him in disbelief. "I mean, that one with the Riproarers and…and…and the Isle of Villainy! And what about that one to the Haunted Marshes?"

"Okay," Humongous laughed. "The Haunted Marshes one was pretty cool." he laughed again, adding quickly, "And I'm not so sure I'm the one who made that cool. It just makes for a good story."

"It was amazing," I told him. "The way you did that…that trick…what's it called?"

"Hmm…" he looked confused for a second. "Are you talking about the Flashtwist?"

"Yes, that!" I said eagerly.

A hint of a smile played at his lips. "Nice to know there are some people who still remember that move."

"How could anybody forget it?" I demanded. "It even got a place in Flashburn the Flashmaster's book, that sword fighting one."

"Eh, well," Humongous shrugged, "true, but it was heavily inspired by a few of his moves, so…naturally. That's why it exhibits such flashy styles." he offered me a grin.

He twirled his sword around in his hand again and patted me on the shoulder as he passed. "Nice talking with you, Hiccup. Unfortunately, there are many preparations I must make before I leave!"

And with that, he swept from the room.

I stared after him for a second, slightly unable to believe I had just carried on an entire conversation with Humongous.

I felt somebody's gaze on me as I turned back to my work, but I knew he wouldn't quit staring unless I looked at him, too, so I did.

Gobber was studying me intently, one hand still wrapped around the hilt of the axe he had been repairing.

I glanced out the door again, watching Humongous sweeping away through the glassless window. I could hear greetings being shouted at him as he passed. He waved airily at them or simply grinned and continued on.

"It'd be cool to be a hero like Humongous, wouldn't it?" I said wistfully, leaning back against my work desk, still clutching the sword I'd been working on.

"Eh," Gobber shrugged, "I don't know. I like him alright, but he's a bit…flighty."

I shrugged. "I don't see it, much."

"Ah, you've been bitten," Gobber announced. I had a funny feeling I already knew what had "bitten" me, but I looked at him questioningly anyways, letting him continue his sentence.

"The Humongous bug often attacks those at impressionable ages. Sucking their brain cells out and filling their heads with air instead, making them float around for a few weeks wanting nothing more than to be like Humongous. It's tragic, really." he sighed, sinking down into the chair beside the desk, closing his eyes and putting a hand over his heart. He opened his eyes, amused. "Did I get Stoick's voice right? It's hard to tell sometimes."

I laughed. "That was supposed to be Stoick?"

Gobber nodded, taking to his feet again. "Stoick gives me the same rant every time he shows up on Berk. It doesn't matter that the man hardly stays for a week or more, he always gets on Stoick's last nerve."

"You like him, then?" I asked, pleased. "Humongous, I mean?"

"Oh, yeah," he nodded. "Yeah, he's nice enough. A bit flighty, like I said, and a bit careless at times – reckless, too. But he's nice enough and he's a good fighter, he just takes some getting used to."

"Some of his Quests, though," I muttered. "I mean, that one to the Haunted Marshes was so cool."

"Yeah," Gobber nodded. "I suppose."

He turned back to his work and I returned to mine, though occasionally I would raise my head to look out the window.


	4. Misfit

Starlight, Star Bright - The Story of a Fool, Through an Even Bigger Fool's Eyes

_What with a stranger washing up on Berk and taking a special interest in his son and news of Outcast activity reaching his ears, Stoick the Vast is uncharacteristically uneasy. Sequel to 'To Be Loved the Way You Love Me'._

Chapter 4: Misfit

**Ah. Yes. Some filler for everybody here, huh? Who likes filler? Hmm? There's a bit of it in chapter five, but chapter five also moves the story ahead a bit :D This one does, too, but in a much smaller way xD but chapter five brings Toothless into the story. I was originally gonna call this chapter 'Isolation' because Hiccup feels...you know...well, read. But then I decided it was too out there. So is 'Misfit' but still. **

* * *

When I stepped out of the forge, into the late winter sunset, I nearly walked right into Astrid, who was standing just outside the back way, looking at her axe.

"Whoa!" I raised my hands in surrender, taking a sudden step back. "S-sorry. Didn't see you there."

And then I realized how stupid I sounded. Of course I hadn't seen her there. The door was closed.

She took a couple steps backward, dropping her gaze back to her axe. "It's fine. At least you're polite about it." she offered me a smile and I fell into step beside her as she strolled past the forge.

"Where are you headed?" I asked her. I looked around for her Nadder, but Stormfly was nowhere to be found.

"Home." she replied shortly, swinging her axe around like she held nothing more dangerous than a leaf.

"Where's Stormfly?" I asked to make conversation.

"I think she's with Toothless," Astrid told me and a sudden and unexpected smile lit up her pretty face. "Funny, wouldn't you say, but I think he might like her."

"Wh—Toothless?" I demanded; my brain tried to produce a convincing mental image, but it only succeeded in disturbing me and probably scarring me mentally forever before my brain shut down.

"Ah." I said, officially disgusted. "Well, then."

Astrid looked away for a second, as if she sensed the subject was making me uncomfortable. "So, what's been going on with you? I haven't seen you around the village lately."

I glanced over at her. _Does that mean you were looking? _I wanted to ask, but I held my tongue.

"Oh, well," I replied, shrugging, "I'm still here. I'm ready to help you guys with your dragon training whenever you need it." I offered her a smile before dropping it, because it made me look overeager, like I wanted to help her or something. Which I kind of did. I mean, look at her. What kind of guy wouldn't be bending over backwards to do something for her?

Astrid smiled back, swiping her bangs out of her eyes and twirling her axe nonchalantly in her hands so that it caught the sunlight and gleamed for a minute from the bloodred.

"I'm actually getting better, now," she informed me happily, her blue eyes sparkling. "With the dragons, I mean. I'm pretty sure I don't know everything about them…" she rolled her eyes like the idea was crazy. "But who would?"

"Yeah, well," I shrugged, deciding to leave out that it was my life's ambition to find out everything about them. What kind of dork would I sound like then?

But she looked so passionately happy about this that I thought for a few brief seconds that she'd be one of the few people who wouldn't laugh at me for it. She ran her finger along the edge of her axe slowly, like she was lost in thought and after a few minutes of her frowning down at her weapon like it displeased her, she looked up and ran up the front steps of the nearest house. "Bye," she turned on the porch to give me a wave and a smile and then she disappeared in the house.

I walked back, towards Stoick's, my head full of thoughts about Astrid. Our friendship hadn't exactly gotten off to the most stellar of starts when I'd first arrived on Berk; seeing as I loved dragons and she had hated them at the time, we'd clashed a lot about that…and other things, too. We still did, sometimes, in fact. She had become a little more open-minded since I'd first met her, but she still insisted on doing things the "Viking Way" instead of the easier ways.

She called my way of doing things the "Hiccup way" and every time she called it that, I wasn't sure whether to just be pleased that she wanted to be my friend despite my ways or offended that she thought my ways deserved a new name. I pushed open the front door to Stoick's house to find him sitting up at the kitchen table, staring down at a few papers spread out all over.

"Ah, that'll never work," he muttered, rolling up the page he'd been looking at and tucking it away. "We'll have to find something new."

"What's wrong?" I asked, dropping into a chair.

"Maybe we could suggest to hold it on their island," Stoick suggested. He turned to me with hopeful eyes. "Do you think that would work?" then his smile melted. "No, no – we can't leave Berk for that long…"

"What's going on?" I demanded, a little louder this time, hoping to get and hold his attention. He rubbed his temples with his fingers, sighing something about the dragons.

"Nothing." he replied dismissively. "Just…a lot of work." he sighed again, looking down at his notes.

"Is it anything I can help with?" At times, there were problems that I figured out solutions to and I sometimes helped around the village with things besides dragons – those were the best days, because I often worked side-by-side with Stoick. He treated me like I'd lived on Berk for years whenever this happened and it was a feeling I liked but didn't often get.

Stoick rubbed tiredly at his temples. "No, no, I'm sure you can't. I just have a lot to organize for the Freya'sDay Fete."

I blinked. "The…the what?"

"The Freya'sDay Fete!" Stoick said, like he thought I was crazy. "You know, the Frozen Lucky Dip and the Smashsticks-on-ice and the wrestling competition and—

"No." I shook my head. "None of this is ringing a bell."

Stoick gaped at me.

"We didn't celebrate much on Outcast Island," I offered him half-heartedly.

He shook his head. "Of course you didn't. I should've known…" his eyes darkened for half a second and the feeling that I'd lived my whole life on Berk was suddenly very far away. There were a lot of things on Berk that they celebrated that I'd never even heard of on Outcast Island and with every one I learned about, the more and more I felt like the little oddball freak just suddenly stepping into a new role. A daughter trying to play dress-up in her mother's too-big high heels and lipstick.

"Freya'sDay Fete," Stoick explained, "is where we celebrate the end of winter and the coming of spring. The coming of hope and new life and second chances." he offered me a small smile and I blinked. I'd never heard spring described that way before. It was just another season in the year.

"But this year…." Stoick mumbled. "This year the planning is murder. I shouldn't think the Bog-Burglars will be too upset by the dragons – they live a bit farther south, I'm afraid, and the dragons never went that far south…they only stretched so far as to Outcast Island, I think…"

"But just in case," Stoick continued, "I think we should introduce them to the dragons carefully. Don't go charging through the festivities on Toothless or anything."

I chuckled at the idea, but at Stoick's stern look, I stopped, making it an awkward cough. "No, sir," I replied.

"Good." Stoick nodded. He turned back to the paper, flipping a few over and mumbling, "Oh, are you going to join in the competition?"

"That wrestling one you were just telling me about?" I squeaked. "I wouldn't last ten seconds—

"No, no," he interrupted, smiling. "The Smashsticks-on-ice. It's for all the children of the tribes. It should be fun." he offered me a smile and suddenly I felt that cold, hard wall again, a wall of isolation from the people of Berk, from my childhood on Outcast Island.

"I've never played it before," I admitted quietly. "I wouldn't even know what you're supposed to do. It sounds like a lot of fun, though."

"Well, maybe one of the other teens can show you sometime." Stoick said vaguely, looking back down at his papers. "We need all the help we can get. I can't bear to see Bertha grinning smugly at me as she wins yet another round…"

I grinned at his words, shaking my head slightly. "I doubt I'd be much help."

"Ah, you'd do me proud," Stoick said confidently, ruffling my hair and making me feel little again – but in a good way. "You'll prove to be a natural."

I blushed, dropping my gaze to the table. "Yeah, right. If I'm ever a natural at anything Viking…well…" I finished lamely.

Stoick stared at me for a second with a pitying expression on his face before he came around to my side of the table. "You should probably get to bed, Hiccup. You must be exhausted."

"I'm fine," I shrugged. Stoick clicked his tongue in an 'I'm unconvinced' manner before doing something unexpected and putting one arm around me in a hug. I knew I should've been used to hugs by now, but every time somebody pulled me into one, I still tensed slightly, expecting a strike on the face or an angry yell.

Stoick released me fairly quickly and sent me on my way upstairs. I looked around the empty room for a second, not being able to pinpoint what was wrong with it before I realized Toothless was missing. I sat quietly on the edge of the bed, waiting for him as I stared out at the moon.


	5. Quickly but Carefully

Starlight, Star Bright - The Story of a Fool, Through an Even Bigger Fool's Eyes

_What with a stranger washing up on Berk and taking a special interest in his son and news of Outcast activity reaching his ears, Stoick the Vast is uncharacteristically uneasy. Sequel to 'To Be Loved the Way You Love Me'._

Chapter 5: Quickly But Carefully

**Sup? Two updates in a day! :D buttttt I'm doing this to get out of Overachiever. I know I have to update it, because I promised one of my readers I would (well, actually I blackmailed her xD) but...now it looks terrible. So. You guys get this.**

**P.S: In my outline for this story, this chapter and the next fall under the events marked 'nothing interesting' xD **

* * *

I found myself dozing a few times as I waited for Toothless and that was surprising, because I had never been able to sleep without him since the night Alvin had found out about him.

Maybe it was the effect of sleeping without him, but I had nightmares as I dozed. I woke suddenly, inches away from Alvin with his hands around my throat to see my nightmare had not been entirely unreal: a slim but broad-shouldered figure clad all in black stood over me, one finger tracing gentle patterns in my cheek.

I would've been scared of the figure, for they wore a mask that almost completely covered their face, except their eyes. Conflicted eyes. Pitying eyes. The eyes were kind. "Soon, Hiccup," a voice whispered to me in the darkness and with a shock, I saw the mouth of the mask moving. "Soon, you will be free."

Their touch was comforting; although I wanted to fight it, the exhaustion was overtaking me again. My eyelids slipped closed for what felt like seconds and when I opened my eyes again, the room was empty.

* * *

"You'll be fine."

"Don't let me go."

"You'll get the hang of it really soon."

"I swear to Odin if you let me go—

"I won't."

"Good."

Toothless, Stormfly, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and even Fishlegs had stopped to gawk at this embarrassing lesson: Astrid gripping my hand tightly in hers as she slowly stepped out onto the ice with her skates on. I wanted to snap at the watchers that it wasn't polite to stare, but I glanced down at my prosthetic leg, which I wasn't sure could handle the ice and decided it might be best to focus on that.

I envied Astrid's agile grace as she skated a perfect loop around me and stopped again, slowly taking my elbow.

"You said you wouldn't let go," I reminded her.

"Sorry." she shrugged, unsympathetically. "C'mon." she took my elbow and steered me around the ice for a couple minutes, my single skate shooting up a spray of ice as we went.

Her grip slipped suddenly and, before she could grab me again, I went down, taking her with me. "S-sorry," I gasped at the cold of the ice and the impact with which I'd hit it. I picked myself up and offered her my hand, which she took with such gusto that I fell over again, on top of her.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized, blushing as I managed to stand again for about two seconds; but without her holding onto me, I promptly fell right over again.

On the sidelines, the others seemed to be thoroughly enjoying this; Ruffnut even had tears of laughter streaming down her cheeks and Snotlout was beating the ground with his fist as he watched me fall over for the fourteenth time that afternoon.

When I glanced back over at Astrid as we both managed to get up, her cheeks were bright pink. At first, I thought that it was from the cold, but it quickly became apparent that I was wrong as she stomped away from me (well, as best you could stomp when you're wearing skates on a frozen pond) and over to the others. "If you think this is so funny, why don't you come out on the ice, then, Snotlout?" she demanded, raising a fist and advancing on him threateningly.

I debated for a moment on whether or not to skate over there and intervene, for Snotlout's sake. I put my skate in front of my prosthetic and promptly slipped and fell again.

Snotlout smirked; Ruffnut wiped the tears of laughter from her cheeks. I wondered, for a brief moment, whether I should just scoot towards them on my butt or if that would look undignified.

"Thank you for suggesting that, Astrid," he smirked, "but I think you two lovebirds have got everything covered."

I had been getting to my feet, but, as his words reached my ears, I blushed and slipped again.

"And also, I think I'd rather just watch," he added, "because you look pretty good out there," he winked, "especially in your winter—

She socked him in the kisser before he could finish his sentence and I resisted the urge to applaud her as I got to my feet again. It was true, though, I realized as I looked at her again, skating back out onto the ice towards me. She looked amazing, having traded out her skirt and leggings for a pair of much thicker dark blue pants and her blue armored shirt with a periwinkle sweater that exactly matched her eyes. She swiped her bangs out of her face as she made it back towards me; skating too fast in her anger, however, she plowed right into me and I landed a few feet back in the snow bank.

"Oh! Sorry." she allowed a smile to cross her face as she helped me up again.

"Your arms have got to be getting tired from lifting me up," I told her, brushing the snow off the seat of my pants.

She grinned. "Not a chance. You weigh less than my skates."

"I'm pretty sure I don't," I said, a little stung.

She grinned and looped the pond once before resting where I stood, panting. "You can stand upright now. That's an improvement."

As the day wore on, the others got bored of heckling us and went out onto the ice themselves, thankfully drawing attention away from me and Astrid, because I'm pretty sure that every time I fell over, my face went redder and redder.

Halfway through a practice loop, the first one without her and the first one I'd done without falling over, there was a shriek and a blast of icy blue light lit up the sky.

I abandoned the loop and skated as fast as I could over to Toothless, tripping a couple times. I pulled off my skate and put on my boot, because in the snow, the skate would only slow me down.

Toothless was going crazy, growling and roaring at nothing.

"Toothless?" I asked, reaching out for him. His eyes widened and he swept me back with his tail, pushing me away.

I fell in the snow and sat right back up, looking around curiously as I drew nearer to him. Toothless was bending low to the ground and he growled softly and dangerously. Warning whatever had disturbed him.

"Is he okay?" Astrid asked, joining us as she fixed on her boots over her skates.

"Toothless, it's okay," I whispered. "There's nothing there."

Toothless stared around, eyes flicking to the left and right, surveying the snow-covered pine trees.

Something dark moved in the trees and Toothless sent a plasma blast at them. The blast missed by just inches, hitting a pine tree trunk instead and sending it tumbling to earth with a huge crash. I winced at the loudness of the noise.

"Toothless, it's okay." I soothed. His breathing was coming rapidly and more and more heavily.

He settled down in the snow, but his muscles were still alert, his body tense and rigid. His eyes moved from side to side every couple seconds and he was starting to make me nervous. What had he seen out there?

I thought back to the figure we'd seen move; a figure clad all in black, like a shadow made solid, like darkness made tangible, like…like…

_Fingernails gently scraping my cheek._

I glanced over at Toothless, my heartbeat coming unnaturally fast.

_A soft voice whispering in my ear. "Soon, Hiccup," it whispers._

I hadn't been close enough this time to be sure, but now I knew it was no dream. Toothless glared around the snowy landscape, lips pulled back into a snarl as he gazed around.

Something icy and hard hit me in the back of the head and I stumbled forward, reaching up to feel it, staring around for the culprit.

It didn't take me long to find them: Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout were giggling madly, and Snotlout's hands were flecked with snow.

I glared at him. "Oh, very funny, Snotlout."

"Are you gonna stand around all day?" Tuffnut demanded.

"No," Snotlout corrected, "he's going to fall all day."

Tuffnut snorted with laughter.

"I'm getting better!" I called defensively.

Ruffnut turned her back, doing a quick slide on the ice, lost in her own little world. Snotlout leaned down and scraped some snow off the ground, throwing it at her just as she turned. As a result, she wound up temporarily blinded and she slipped and fell, wiping at her snow-covered eyes.

When she recovered her sense of sight, I could tell Snotlout was in for it. She charged him, pinning him to the ground by his helmet, repeatedly smacking his head against the ice. Cracks appeared in the ice, breaking it up like a spider's web.

"Ruffnut, stop!" Astrid shrieked. "The ice…"

Snotlout's horns cut cleanly through the ice and he fell to his neck in the tiny hole. He yanked his head out again, gasping, but his helmet was jammed in the hole and the ice was cracking around his knees.

"Get off the ice!" I tried to stay calm, but with Ruffnut and Tuffnut already panicking, it wasn't easy. "Guys, get off the ice! Quickly, but carefully!"

Ruffnut and Tuffnut ran shrieking from the scene to watch from the safety of the snow.

Fishlegs watched them and then, slowly, methodically, he skated over to the other side, too, though you could see the panic in the way his hands shook.

Snotlout slowly stood, starting to walk. I watched from the bank, biting my nails, chewing my thumb as I waited for him to reach safety.

"Oh, no!" Snotlout reached up, fingers finding only thick, dark hair. "My helmet!" he turned to grab it and his sudden spin cracked the ice even more.

The helmet disappeared, but Snotlout hadn't gripped it; something had pulled it by the bottom and was pulling.

"Snotlout!" I yelled, running towards him without thinking. Before I could stop, I had sprawled out onto the ice. I sat up as fast as I could, glancing around for him.

The hole suddenly grew larger, larger, larger…and then a dragon burst through, a dragon who, at first, I assumed was part of the lake, because his scales were the exact color of ice. His clear skin was shielded by a murky undertone and he spilled icy water onto the frozen part of the lake as he emerged.


	6. Scared Stiff

Starlight, Star Bright - The Story of a Fool, Through an Even Bigger Fool's Eyes

_What with a stranger washing up on Berk and taking a special interest in his son and news of Outcast activity reaching his ears, Stoick the Vast is uncharacteristically uneasy. Sequel to 'To Be Loved the Way You Love Me'._

Chapter 6: Scared Stiff

**Sup? xD I love Humongous' puns in this chapter, because they remind me of me xD I just love puns :D like, the really awful ones that everybody groans collectively at? **

* * *

I slowly crawled over to Snotlout on my hands and knees, trying to goad him into action. He was simply sitting there, petrified. I slowly tried to stand him up, but the movements were making the ice creak in a worrying way.

The dragon flapped his wings, roaring his displeasure at us. He beat his skinny tail against the thin ice. CRACK.

Snotlout was slowly rising to his feet, gripping my arm so tightly that I could feel his nails digging into me. The dragon raised one wing and batted him aside carelessly. His crystalline gaze went farther, finding me, locking me in place and somehow, I felt he'd come out of the ice because he sensed me up here.

I took a few quick steps backward, tripping over my prosthetic and myself landing on my butt and continuing to scramble backward. "I…uh…I…"

The dragon roared again, flying down to meet me. Nostrils flaring, he put his face close to mine, staring down at me with no pity in his gaze. He opened his mouth.

"HICCUP!" Astrid screamed.

I turned my face away, waiting for the blow…I could feel cool breath, misting the side of my face…

"YAH! YAH! BACK, YOU VILLAIN!" A voice shouted.

When I dared to look up, Humongously Hotshot the Hero was battling the dragon, sword against ice. There was already a purpling bruise on his forehead, but he was grinning, his blue eyes alight with the joys of battle.

Toothless had run out onto the ice in those precious seconds between when the dragon had been about to kill me and Humongous had distracted it and now he was looking me over like a mother hen, before another roar from the ice dragon distracted him.

He blew a blast of fire at the thing and while Humongous' sword wasn't doing much, the heat was definitely weakening the dragon, who started swaying like crazy, like the fire was confusing him. At last, he gave one final roar and dived back down, cracking the ice so much that there was no side where it was thickest anymore; it was all just a spider web of shattering pond. The dragon disappeared, its skinny tail being the last bit.

Icy water lapped at my clothing, soaking me through in seconds. For a minute, I lay there shivering on the ice, shaking and letting fear run its course. But even then, I wasn't safe; the ice was still creaking and groaning about my weight and I scrambled off it as carefully and quickly as I could and Toothless followed, his foot going through it at one point.

He panicked for a brief moment, yanking his paw out again and staring in horror at the hole that it was forming.

"Toothless, c'mon!" I cajoled desperately and he flew the last couple meters, collapsing on the ground in front of me. I sat down in the snow, expecting him to lay there panting for a couple seconds, but it seemed that dragon had boundless energy; he leaped to his feet and began nosing and licking me, searching for wounds.

"Hey, Toothless, I'm alright," I told him quietly and a few giggles slipped out. His tongue was tickling me. I scrunched up and pushed him away by the nose and he retreated, looking down at the side I'd curled up on like he was concerned I was injured there or something. "St-stop!" I begged him, holding my hands up in an attempt to protect myself from his concern.

He nosed my side.

"Yes," I reiterated, "I'm fine _everywhere_."

"Are you alright?" Humongous knelt down next to me.

"Yeah," I nodded, shivering as Toothless thankfully quit nosing me. Toothless fanned his wings out, wrapping one of them around me and glaring coldly at Humongous for a second, growling slightly.

Humongous smiled charmingly at him. "Hello, there. I'm only checking to see if the lad's all right." he got to his feet and held his arms up above his head. "I don't even have to touch him, I swear."

"How did you get here, Humongous?" I asked as Toothless considered the offer and loosened his wing grip on me slightly.

"You're shivering," Humongous whispered, ignoring my question. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm shivering because meeting an ice dragon makes you cold," I told him shortly, refusing to admit that I was also still a little scared. I turned my gaze on my friends, who were still staring, shocked, at the hole through which he'd disappeared.

"You could say they're frozen with fear," Humongous chuckled at his own joke. I gave him a 'are-you-serious?' look, and he sobered up. "Perhaps this is not the time for jokes."

Astrid was the first to come back to reality. "What was that thing?"

"I'm guessing an ice dragon," I told her.

"It was," Humongous nodded. "I've met them before. They are _nasty_." he wrinkled his nose.

"Alright." she nodded shakily as the others came back to it, too.

Humongous stared down at the blade of his sword, which had little ice chips all along the hilt and blade. He shook it off and sheathed it again, turning to me sternly. "You ought to get changed, little Hiccup," he said reprovingly, like an older brother who doesn't approve of the littler one playing in the wintertime for fear he might get sick. "You're freezing."

I glanced down at myself and shrugged. "I'll be fine. I've got nothing else, anyway."

"You don't?" he seemed remarkably calm, to be discussing something as trivial as clothes after what had just happened, but he was a Hero. He must be used to this sort of danger. "Here, then." he took off his furry black jacket and tossed it to me.

"Humongous, this is yours," I told him, trying to give it back. "Mine will be dry by tonight."

"Well, keep it until then," he told me sternly, turning to the others. "Righto, everybody. Anybody hurt? No dragon claw marks? No burns? No _freezer_ burns?" Again, he chuckled slightly, before sobering up at the looks we were all giving him. "Anyway. Um. So. Nobody was hurt?"

"I don't think so," Astrid said, stepping up. "Although Snotlout could have a concussion from Ruffnut…"

"I regret nothing," Ruffnut said, studying her fingernails.

"Concussions are an occupational hazard," Humongous informed Ruffnut. "Be proud of your strength."

A hint of a smile appeared on Ruffnut's face.

Snotlout made a noise of protest somewhere to the back, but everybody pretty much ignored him as Humongous said, "Alright, then. I suppose we ought to be getting back to the village. I don't think that pond will be good for skating on again anytime soon."

He looked down at the broken mess that had once been a sheet of clear, sparkling ice. "Let's go."

We trooped back to the village, all of us shivering and sodden, for the dragon had drenched everybody with half-frozen water when it had dived back down into the hole.

"Are you sure it was an ice dragon?" Tuffnut asked. "So, do you think it will come out in winter?"

"I haven't a clue," Humongous replied airily. "I don't study dragons; they are sometimes helpful and that is all I know."

Tuffnut and his sister exchanged looks that I could just tell I wasn't going to like.

Humongous drew me away from the other teens as we neared the village, drumming his fingers nervously on his sword hilt. "Could I have a quick word?"

"Alright." I conceded, throwing a quick glance at the other teens; only Astrid had noticed us and I mouthed, 'catch up later' and fell back with Humongous.

"Hiccup, something is troubling me," he admitted, staring down at the snow crunching beneath our boots as we walked. "That ice dragon, he, well, he singled you out," Humongous blurted suddenly. He glanced down at me quickly, waiting for a sign of fear.

I caught my breath. So I hadn't been the only one who had noticed that it had isolated me from the other teens before attacking, even though he could easily have frozen us all and been done with it.

"He singled you out, Hiccup, and I _don't_ think that was by accident," Humongous continued softly.

"What do you…what do you mean?" I knew what he meant; I wanted to know what he _thought._

In the still silence that followed, I could hear the shouts of the other teens up ahead.

"Do you really think he singled me out?" I studied the snow at my feet for a couple seconds as I waited for his answer.

"I doubt that the dragon has been living in that lake for long," he replied hesitantly.

It took me a second, but I looked up at him and suddenly understood. "You think he was planted, maybe, with instruction to kill me?"

"I didn't say that," he added quickly. "It could be any number of things. I only meant it seems odd."

I glanced down at the ground, brow furrowed as I stared unseeingly into an icy puddle. My own face stared back, green eyes confused, hair dripping with snow and ice water. My brows were drawn down low over my forehead, the face I always made when I was thinking.

"You should get warm," Humongous added quickly, stepping away from me suddenly. "I'm sorry. I'm keeping you…"

"It's alright." I interrupted him. "Honestly." Something about the warm look in his eyes reminded me of somebody else, but I couldn't quite think who.

There was another long minute of silence, at least until I worked up the courage to ask my next question; Humongous was a Hero and he had dealt with dangers like these. He would know the answer.

"D'you think I should go back?" I asked him hesitantly. He gave me a questioning look. "To the dragon, I mean. Should I go back, try and find out what he wants—?"

"No, Hiccup." Humongous' constantly amused blue eyes suddenly lost their sparkle and he became stern. "No. We'll figure this out. You just stay safe."

"I'm always safe," I mumbled bitterly.

The seriousness melted and he smiled down at me, like I was being a petulant child. "You should be grateful," he informed me, "if it weren't for that dragon, you'd have about a thousand icicles sticking out of you right about now."

He nodded over at Toothless, who was nearly invisible due to his skulking in the shadows of the trees beside us.

"You know, you seem very lighthearted about all of this," I informed Humongous, turning back to him.

"I'm very used to life-threatening situations." he told me.

There was nothing but the sound of the snow crunching underneath our feet for some time; the shouts of the teens were gone and their figures were tiny pinpricks on the snowy horizon.

"Right," Humongous said suddenly, "I think you ought to tell the chief about this. Just so he knows. It's always better to know. Although, I confess, I'd rather you leave me out of it."

"Why?" I asked, brows pinching in confusion.

Humongous smiled sheepishly. "Stoick the Vast has heard enough of my stories to decide he doesn't believe them. He might not take it seriously if he were to know I was involved."

"Alright," I agreed, because there was too much truth in this statement to ignore.

"I want him to take this seriously," Humongous explained. "That dragon has Imprinted on you, Hiccup. I don't know how or why or when. But he has. And that's a really, really bad sign."

"Wait a second," I said, holding my hands up in a 'stop-right-there' gesture. "You said that he has 'Imprinted' on me. What does that mean?"

"Ah…well…" Humongous looked awkward. "I said it without thinking, Hiccup…think nothing of it…" he rubbed the back of his neck, murmuring about not putting any ideas in my head.

"I want to know, though," I insisted. "What did you mean?"

"Hiccup, I'm not even sure it's real." he sighed tiredly.

I glared at him.

"Okay. Okay." he held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "If it is real, it's a type of ancient magic, in which a dragon has listened to nothing but a soundtrack of your transgressions or your good qualities for months. That dragon will always remember you from then on and stop at nothing to protect you from the moment he sees you…if he's heard your good qualities."

"And?" I tilted my head. "If he's heard your bad ones?"

"He will stop at nothing to kill you." Humongous replied darkly.


	7. Care to Explain

Starlight, Star Bright - The Story of a Fool, Through an Even Bigger Fool's Eyes

_What with a stranger washing up on Berk and taking a special interest in his son and news of Outcast activity reaching his ears, Stoick the Vast is uncharacteristically uneasy. Sequel to 'To Be Loved the Way You Love Me'._

Chapter 7: Care to Explain

**A/N: Um. Yeah. Really not much to say about this chap. I've mostly just spent all day eating cake and listening to songs off the Frozen soundtrack :) I just looooove the First Time in Forever reprise :) I think I might join the fandom when I see the movie, which is supposed to be tomorrow, but might end up being in January. I have no idea. *shrugs* anyway. Yeah. I'm proud of this chapter and all, but I really just don't have anything to say about it. It pretty much speaks for itself. **

* * *

My mind was so busy chewing on all the things Humongous had told me about Imprinting and the ice dragon that at first, I didn't immediately recognize the danger. Humongous was the first to notice it; he suddenly went stiff and his hand drifted casually toward his sword. "You alright, Hiccup?" he turned to me and smiled; he was a good actor, I'd give him that.

"Humongous, what—?"

"Shh!" Humongous suddenly clapped a hand over my mouth; I struggled against him for a second before he dug his fingers into my ribcage. It didn't exactly have the desired effect, because he didn't do it hard enough and it tickled me, it didn't hurt me, so I struggled for a second against him, thinking he was trying to tickle me, but then he dug his fingers in again and boy did it _hurt_. He gently released me, gently setting me down on the ground. "Shh." he held a finger to his lips; I could barely hear him over the wind roaring in my ears.

The snow was picking up, I thought absently to myself as I glanced up at the gray sky, before I was dragged back to reality in the form of two people's voices, getting nearer and nearer with every second.

"Are you sure we won't be heard, here?" The first man asked quietly. The footsteps stopped just in front of our patch of trees and Humongous curled his fingers around the side of my shirt again, pulling me down.

"We won't," the second man replied curtly. "This is the path nobody ever takes, Eirik."

There was a sigh, just a whisper in the sudden breeze.

"So?" the second man asked. "What news do you bring?"

"The plan is going well," Eirik said. "Although, that rogue attack was a bit much."

"The Outcasts are an easily excited bunch," the second man said dryly. "If they think that a problem can be solved with brute strength, that's what they'll go for. Surely you know that, Eirik."

Eirik gave a noise somewhere between a groan and a sigh. "But that could've raised suspicion—

"Chief Stoick has no idea as of yet that he has lost two men, correct?" the second man asked, in a voice that suggested that if he did, then Eirik would be as good as dead.

"No," Eirik replied bitterly. "No, he doesn't."

"Then what's the harm? It's two Hooligans less, Eirik. Do you have any more news?"

The man burst out suddenly, "His plan won't work. The people of Berk act like they expect attacks."

"Minor precautions," the second man said dismissively. "The Hooligans are quite used to being attacked by the Outcasts."

"But it seems like they're expecting— Eirik insisted.

"No, they're not," the second man interrupted. "Besides, that's just a distraction, isn't it, attacking Berk? He only wants that boy, right?"

"Yes." Eirik admitted moodily. "But you don't understand, they won't be fooled by any distractions, sir. They're expecting the boy to be taken. Stoick looks after the boy like he's his own."

Their voices were starting to come from a very long way away, like I was trying to hear them underwater. The melted snow was soaking into my already drenched clothing, but I hardly felt it, I was so numb, numb and shaking.

They're looking for me. They're still going after me. They're hoping to distract Stoick with an attack and…and…

"Good," the second man replied coldly. "Stoick cares about him. It'll be an even bigger blow to the chief."

"What if he comes after us?" Eirik asked nervously.

"For Odin's sake, grow a spine, Eirik," the second man snapped. "Stoick the Vast might care about him now…but once he's taken, he'll decide the boy was too much trouble to begin with. We'll be left well alone once he's with us, make no mistake."

I sank down even farther on the ground, feeling snow starting to seep into my clothes. The rest of the conversation was a blur. I couldn't tell you what was said. Every time I allowed myself to think, their words haunted me.

"_He only wants the boy, right?"_

"_They're expecting the boy to be taken."_

"_The boy was too much trouble to begin with."_

As I played these words like a soundtrack in my head, Humongous suddenly reached over and grabbed my shoulder, shaking it roughly. "Are you alright?"

I came back in reality to hear footsteps crunching on the snow some feet away; the Outcasts were leaving the clearing. I took a deep, shaky breath and tried to put on a brave front. There was absolutely no way I was going to let the greatest hero in the Archipelago see me as scared as a little kid.

"Yeah," I told him, lifting my eyes to him and clenching my jaw in the way I sometimes saw Stoick do, when he was trying to hide pain or fear. It always worked for him. "I'm fine."

Humongous' eyes turned a bit stern. "Don't lie, Hiccup."

"I'm not," I insisted shortly, tilting my head a little. "Do you think they're gone?"

"You're shaking," Humongous noted quietly.

"Oh. Yeah." My hands were trembling badly, so badly that it was a surprise Humongous hadn't noticed until just now. I took a couple deep breaths; that was what Gust had always taught me to do, whenever fear or anger threatened to overwhelm me.

_"Take a breath and count to ten," he coached me quietly, as Halfdan and a few of his stupid friends laughed and pointed at me. "Take a breath and walk away."_

_I was shaking with anger and rage; I wanted to walk over to them and demand to know why they thought this was so funny, why they thought that my screw-up was anything to laugh about, but I stopped myself. Gust's gentle hands helped._

I closed my eyes._ One…two…three…four…five…only five more seconds to go…six…seven…eight…nine…ten._

I opened my eyes slowly again and forced my hands to stop shaking. Alvin was nothing to be afraid of. I had won back my freedom from him. The victory had been bitter and hard, but it had happened. I was getting better. I was away from him. And I could face him again. He was nothing to fear.

Humongous' eyes were full of concern and I hated it. I wasn't going to let him be concerned about me. "We'd better get back to the village," I said shortly. Humongous' jacket had fallen off me into the snow. My pride argued with me for a second, telling me I was not allowed to pick it up. I did, but only to hand it back to Humongous as I walked onward, calling back over my shoulder, "The others are probably miles ahead of us by now."

Humongous caught up to me, frowning slightly before glancing out at the sky. "I think the snow is picking up," he said. "We need to hurry, before we get caught in a blizzard."

Last year, I probably would have been completely unprepared for the idea of a snowstorm. After living on Berk in midwinter, I was pretty much growing immune. I shrugged, quickening my pace slightly.

"We need to tell Stoick about this." Humongous commented, clearly trying to make conversation, but my head was so busy swirling with all my thoughts that I didn't want to walk.

When he mentioned Stoick's name, my stomach gave a horrible jolt. What if…what if they were right? What if Stoick decided that I really was too much trouble? What if he decided he didn't want to endanger his people for some stupid little kid? What if he decided that I was no good? What if he decided that I wasn't worth rescuing or trying to keep safe?

My heart started beating too fast as I considered it. I bit my lip, worries running through my head. Would he want to know about this? Would he want to keep me safe? I didn't even notice that I'd stopped walking completely, staring unseeingly at the ground as I considered, until Humongous whispered, "Hiccup?" and rested a hand on my shoulder. Something heavy fell around my shoulders, bathing them in warmth.

It took me a second to realize it was Humongous' jacket. I probably should have let him take it back, but my grip tightened on it. I pulled it tighter around me as I stared down at the snow, brow furrowing.

Then again, I couldn't _not _tell Stoick, I decided, rubbing my cold white hands together, trying to keep them warm. He was the only chance I had at keeping Toothless safe. I glanced down at my dragon, almost completely hidden by the shadows. He had stayed quiet and watchful all throughout our walk and even now his ears were pricked and his head was low to the ground.

Yes. Even if I was in a cell on Outcast Island somewhere and Stoick decided to just leave me there – and my stomach twisted with fear at both thoughts – Toothless needed to be kept safe.

I nodded, pleased with my reasoning and started walking again.

Humongous had apparently decided that I was still lost in thought about the conversation that we'd just overheard, because he didn't press me again.

When we made it to the village, Humongous said, "C'mon. Quickly, Hiccup. They might still be in the forest somewhere."

I nodded and hurried along after him, to Stoick's house.

Humongous rapped on the door twice, stepped back and waited for Stoick to answer.

There was laughter glinting in Stoick's eyes when he opened the door, but when he saw Humongous, it faded instantly, replaced by a look of sudden cold, unfriendliness. He nodded in recognition, but didn't speak.

"Stoick," Humongous said in a placating tone, "I know things might seem a little…sudden…but I promise you, this is the truth and—

Stoick wasn't listening; his eyes had landed on me, still dripping wet and with Humongous' jacket. His jaw tightened visibly and he reached for the door, like he was planning on shutting us out.

"Chief, wait, please!" Humongous said earnestly, reaching out and easily preventing Stoick from shutting the door. "Just listen to me, please?"

"What have you got to say?" Stoick demanded coldly, crossing his arms.

"This might take awhile," Humongous replied seriously. "And little Hiccup is already freezing. May we come inside, so the poor lad can get warm?"

Part of me actually registered that Humongous had just called me 'little Hiccup' but another part of me shrugged it off, instantly accepting the nickname.

Stoick seemed to be fighting a difficult internal battle. Finally, he relented, opening the door wide enough to allow both of us in, but his lips were pressed tightly together and his jaw was clenched, displaying his anger.

I glanced over at Humongous, looking to see how he was reacting to Stoick's less-than-warm welcome. It seemed odd that Stoick would react this way to Humongous. I mean, sure, the guy annoyed the crap out of him, but this seemed…deeper. Like Stoick felt that Humongous had now personally wronged him.

I inched into the corner of the room, sticking to the shadows with Toothless, who didn't seem in the mood for the warm and welcoming glow of the fire. I hovered on the fringes with him, glancing around the room quickly and realizing Gobber also hunched in one of the chairs, watching us file into the room with his mouth slightly open.

"Um—?" he coughed. "May I ask—?"

"No," Stoick said sharply to him as he led Humongous inside. "Hiccup, go sit by the fire if you like. You look ready to collapse."

Toothless was supporting me slightly, but I liked it better next to him, even though I was freezing. "M'alright," I mumbled.

Stoick surprised me by nodding agreeably and turning instead to Humongous, the warmth in his gaze hardening to something more like ice. "Now," he rested a hand rather threateningly on the hilt of his sword, "care to explain what's going on?"


	8. Suggestions

Starlight, Star Bright - The Story of a Fool, Through an Even Bigger Fool's Eyes

_What with a stranger washing up on Berk and taking a special interest in his son and news of Outcast activity reaching his ears, Stoick the Vast is uncharacteristically uneasy. Sequel to 'To Be Loved the Way You Love Me'._

Chapter 8: Suggestions

**A/N: Well, look who's back! With a new chapter! And some angst. And some Stoick/Hiccup. And some Gobber. And basically, everyone xD this chapter feels filler, even though it's not. **

* * *

Humongous began to tell the story. He didn't leave out a single thing and talked until it was late in the night and I had drifted off to sleep while leaning against Toothless' back. The comforting hum of his voice died away as my eyelids closed and it felt like seconds later when I heard voices.

"Let him sleep." Humongous whispered. "He probably won't be getting much peaceful sleep these next few days. Let him get it while he can." I felt somebody gently smoothing down my hair, but I didn't bother to open my eyes.

"Here, I'll take him up to his room if you like, so we don't wake him," Humongous added and I felt strong arms on me.

"Or not." Stoick suggested coldly and the strong arms disappeared suddenly.

"It was just a suggestion," Humongous said pleasantly.

"We don't need your _suggestions_," Stoick snapped.

There was a quiet sound, like an inhalation and when I opened my eyes, Humongous was biting his lip, like he was holding himself back from saying something.

"Okay." he nodded. "It was just a suggestion."

And then he swept out the door, taking all the tension with him.

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, I was in my own bed, Toothless curled up beside me. When I shifted, he opened his green eyes, blinked sleepily at me and smiled.

"'Morning, bud," I whispered to him, kicking off the blankets and smiling at him before the smile slid off my face. I was recalling the events of last night in rapid detail and so much had happened…

The ice dragon bursting out of the lake, bringing water from below, his skinny tail beating the thick ice…

_The Outcasts whispering in the middle of that snow-covered clearing, never even checking to see if we were there…_

_Humongous handing me his coat, concern evident in his blue eyes as I stood there shivering._

_Stoick's jaw clenching as he reached for the door, furious with me or with Humongous or with who, I wasn't really sure anymore._

_Humongous' strong, warm arms around me for two seconds before Stoick snapped at him, driving him away…_

I opened my eyes to see Toothless looking up at me with concern and I forced a smile. "Hey, bud. Yeah, I'm okay. I'm okay." I pushed myself up off the bed, pain going through my leg. I winced, reaching for the stump. What in Thor's name had I done to it yesterday to make it hurt this bad?

And then I slowly dropped my fingers off the stump, feeling stupid for not remembering before that ice skating can take a lot out of you, specifically if that ice skating involves a snowball fight, a prosthetic leg and a dragon.

Even though I'd only just woken, I felt tired enough to sleep again. I slowly sat back down on the bed for a second or two, yawning.

Toothless must've sensed my exhaustion, because he nodded every time I yawned, looking ready to curl back up himself and I knew it was up to me to get him up. "Alright, c'mon, Toothless," I whispered. "C'mon, buddy, time to get up."

Toothless was surprisingly compliant, uncurling himself and jumping up. He followed me downstairs and, just before I reached the last few steps, I heard voices coming from downstairs, Gobber and Stoick quietly conversing.

"It's not good," Stoick was whispering.

I quietly hopped down the last few stairs and leaned against the wall separating the stairway from the kitchen, listening to them talking in the next room.

"What are you going to do?" Gobber whispered back.

"I'm going to try and find a way around this," Stoick murmured. "And whatever you do, Gobber, I don't want you telling Hiccup about this. He doesn't need to be worrying."

"Alright," Gobber said, in a voice that suggested Stoick was being silly. "Stoick, I don't think it's a good idea to try and shelter him like this—

"Gobber, I don't want to scare him."

"Scare him? Scare him?" Gobber sounded deeply incredulous now. I heard his uneven footsteps and just a bit of him came into view from where I crouched behind the wall. I could see him gesticulating wildly with his prosthetic hand. "Stoick, this isn't about sparing him. This is about putting him on his guard. This is about showing him that he needs to understand how much thought Alvin is putting into trying to get him back, to let him get an idea of just how much danger he's in."

"You don't understand," Stoick told him in a sharp voice. "Gobber, if you think telling him something like that is going to put him on his guard, then you really don't know him. I bet you anything warning him would backfire. And not just because it would scare him…though why he pretends to be fearless, I'll never know…Odin knows he's not…" he took a deep, shuddering breath before continuing. "Anyway," he said, in a much lighter voice, "scaring him is just one con of telling him this soon. I guarantee you he'll get upset because he doesn't think we should try to protect him. He told me once…he asked me…he asked me once if I was honestly willing to put my island at risk for one stupid kid…nobody's ever tried to defend him before, nobody. I'm going to do it and I'm not letting him feel guilty about it, either. It's what I'm supposed to do for him."

There was a distinct edge to Stoick's voice as he finished his speech.

A small drop of water dripped down onto my index finger and I lifted my hand to examine it, wondering where it had come from when I realized it was a teardrop. I swiped at my eyes again, although I guess I couldn't explain exactly why they were in my eyes to begin with. I kept repeating Stoick's lines, over and over to myself as I felt them warm a part of me that I'd never noticed was icy cold until it had been touched by gentle flame.

_"I'm going to defend him."_

I remembered that day, come to think of it; the day when Stoick had offered me a permanent home on Berk and I had been so shocked to find that he still wanted me, even after all I had put him through, after all I had put his village through, all he'd seen Alvin do to me, all he knew about me…

He had known more than anyone else on this island would ever know about me…and still, he'd accepted me.

I bit down hard on my lip, as I heard Gobber begin speaking again. "I won't tell him. Not if you don't want me to."

"Good," Stoick whispered. He meandered nearer and nearer to the wall which I crouched behind and I suddenly realized he was about to round the corner and see me eavesdropping. I wasn't honestly sure what he would to do to me, but I was sure it would be in no way fun. I glanced between the wall and the stairs and finally made a hopeless dive for the stairs, racing up them as fast as I could, leaning against my closed bedroom door, panting.

"What…Toothless?" Stoick murmured and I cursed myself. Toothless hadn't followed me up. He'd stuck by, wanting to hear the end of the conversation maybe.

"What are you doing down here?" Stoick whispered, scratching him under the chin, getting closer to his pressure point. My dragon has been known to betray me at times. I still vividly recall when he used several of my weaknesses against me, including his Bambi eyes. But this time, he came through. He purred lightly and rubbed his chin against Stoick's hand, not really responding.

"Is Hiccup awake, then?" Stoick moved on, instead going behind his ears as he spoke.

Toothless drew away from him for a second to solemnly shake his head no and then allowed Stoick to continue scratching him.

"Alright," Stoick gave the dragon a small pat between the horns. "Look after him."

Toothless nodded solemnly, no longer playfully purring or letting Stoick touch him. His expression was serious.

Stoick released him from his grip and swung his cloak around his shoulders.

"You know," Gobber said thoughtfully, scratching Toothless under the chin as well as he seated himself in a wooden chair, "I think Toothless will be the safest person for Hiccup to be around, once the attack comes. I mean, whenever this dragon feels Hiccup's threatened, he practically holds him prisoner." he chuckled lightly. "I mean, you can't take somebody prisoner when they're already a prisoner, right?"

Stoick froze in the act of putting on his Viking helmet. He stared at Gobber, one hand still on the top, about to pull it over his red hair. "You know," he said quietly, "you are absolutely right."


	9. Suspicion

Starlight, Star Bright - The Story of a Fool, Through an Even Bigger Fool's Eyes

_What with a stranger washing up on Berk and taking a special interest in his son and news of Outcast activity reaching his ears, Stoick the Vast is uncharacteristically uneasy. Sequel to 'To Be Loved the Way You Love Me'._

Chapter 9: Suspicion

**A/N: Hey, everybody! This is chapter nine! I'm pretty proud of it, as it gets the story moving in a big way. Of course, what'll really get the story moving is about chapter ten or eleven... *evil grin* actually, a scene coming up in one of those chapters is what really convinced me to write this story. Because it cried out to me, 'write me! I offer angst!' and it wouldn't fit in any of my canon things, because it would only fit with this AU. So, yeah. I'm really glad I got this chapter written, because of reasons. Okay, I'm pretty much rambling now. Even I can see this. Thank you all! 44 reviews! Wow! :D **

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The circumstances wouldn't have been suspicious if not for that conversation between Stoick and Gobber that I'd overheard the other day. Sure – I might have been a little mystified, a little flattered – nope, I was annoyed.

Over the next few days, Humongous dropped by the forge more and more often, though he had no weapons he needed fixing. He spoke to Gobber in a tense, low voice in the backroom a lot of the time, like he thought I was stupid, that I didn't know they wanted me to leave. I was dying to sarcastically offer to plug my ears and hum next time, but my resistance surprised even me.

After any brief conversations he'd have with Gobber, he would turn to me and begin talking with me. It would've made me uneasy, this sudden interest he'd taken in me, had I not overheard Stoick and Gobber's conversation the other day. But then, maybe it wouldn't have unsettled me – I was in awe of Humongous, a hero so magnificent that he made me self-conscious just by walking into the room. Maybe I would've liked the attention.

Either way, I wasn't mystified or flattered – I was kind of annoyed, actually. It was obvious that Humongous had been put on the 'protect Hiccup' duty, and I was aching sometimes to just yell at him to leave me alone.

It wasn't that I didn't enjoy his company, because I did – he told me the wildest, most entertaining stories about past adventures and he told jokes that I could appreciate much more now that they did not involve an ice dragon.

In fact, I saw him like a really good friend – but I knew that to him, it was more like a babysitting job, stuck with the task of protecting some dumb kid. And that was what pissed me off, that was the thorn in my side. I didn't want to be protected, not that way. If you're trying to help me, at least come right out and tell me that. I might not always want or need your help, but I will certainly react better if you're honest than if you aren't.

In his company, I always felt a bit angry, a bit annoyed because I knew what he was doing and that it had nothing to do with if he liked me or not and everything to do with his job. But I always shoved it to the back of my mind, ignoring it and instead focusing on him and the pleasure it was to be with him.

"…The fog surrounded me, howling and shrieking like one thousand ghosts stood there in the smoke, reaching for me with wispy fingers…I backed away, slicing at nothing, at everything…and my boot found the edge of the cliff. I teetered on the edge for a second and I felt myself beginning to slip—

Humongous suddenly interrupted himself, tapping his chin like he was thinking hard. "Oh. Wait. It just occurred to me that I didn't explain to you – how did I get there in the first place?"

"That's not fair!" I interjected. "You can't start something there and then suddenly end it, that's not—ugh…"

It was two days after I'd overheard Stoick's conversation with Gobber and after I'd started getting more than a little annoyed about Humongous' shadowing me. Not so annoyed that I would take it up with Stoick or even Humongous, but irritated enough. Not even irritated enough to treat Humongous badly – but still, irritated enough to recognize it.

"I'm the storyteller," Humongous declared. "I say how I tell it." he sat back again, taking a breath and starting from the beginning.

"I was sailing away through a perfectly calm sea, nothing but wind and the cry of the gulls ahead…when suddenly it—

The back door of the forge opened suddenly, catching me in the back and knocking me off the step. I fell forward, doing a face plant in the dirt, one hand on my back, which was beginning to throb from the force with which the door had hit it.

"Humongous," Gobber declared sternly, placing a hand on his hip. "Would you mind?"

"Would I mind what?" Humongous asked innocently.

"My apprentice still has work to do," Gobber announced, his voice like ice water. "Please excuse yourself. You may finish your story later, although I'm sure it was a thrilling tale."

"Oh, my apologies," Humongous scrambled up from the step, still as dignified as ever, and offered Gobber a graceful bow. "I did not realize I was keeping the lad. You see, he wanted a story—

"Not true," I interrupted heatedly, standing up.

"—and I simply couldn't refuse him." Humongous' blue eyes widened innocently. "I apologize again and congratulate you on getting yourself such a fine apprentice."

I might've been annoyed with him and Gobber, but at his compliment, I felt my face beginning to heat and glanced down at my boots, trying to detect sarcasm in his compliment but finding none.

"Goodbye, then!" he announced happily, waving at me. "See you tomorrow, I suppose?"

I nodded.

Gobber opened the door to the forge again and led me in, glaring at nothing.

"What was that about?" I asked, tilting my head.

"What was what about?" he demanded, obviously trying to play innocent.

"I didn't think you'd want to scare your own shadow," I began, speaking without really realizing what I was saying.

"What…what do you mean?" Gobber's brows pinched in confusion.

"I…I…" his dark brown gaze held me there and I sighed. Gobber was great at guessing when people were lying and I knew it was easier to admit it than go through the exhausting process of Gobber using some form of prying – and he'd used a lot on me.

"He's shadowing me, isn't he?" I sighed, defeated. "Because Stoick must've asked him to. I heard you and Stoick talking the other morning about the Outcasts and everything…"

Gobber's brows flew up. "You know? Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't want you guys getting mad," I mumbled.

"Get mad! Hiccup, you're taking this better than I thought you would have! You've acted so calm…" he stared at me for a second, tilting his head. "I thought you'd be a lot more scared. Because…you know…Alvin…"

Gobber didn't know everything Alvin had done, but he'd put enough of the pieces together to understand that my life on Outcast Island hadn't exactly been peachy. In fact, I think he always knew where I came from and who I was, but I think he denied it to himself for as long as possible.

Gobber sighed, pushing his helmet farther up his forehead; it tipped slightly, threatening to topple right off his head and onto the floor. "Well, I suppose you know now and there's nothing we can do about it." he squinted at me. "And don't go feeling guilty about this, Hiccup, it's Stoick's job—

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I heard," I interrupted him bitterly. "Still, I survived years on Outcast Island, it's not like I'm some weakling who can't defend himself. I've got Toothless. I don't need a shadow as well." I folded my arms and glared defiantly at him.

Gobber looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

With rapidly thinning patience, I re-explained the suspicions I'd developed about Humongous.

Gobber's eyebrows went even higher and this time he actually laughed. "You honestly think Stoick would appoint Humongous? The only time he'd do that is in a life or death situation, alright?"

"But then…" I rapidly began feeling like a fool again.

_Of course Stoick doesn't care enough to set a shadow. You're too much trouble, you idiot boy. _

"But then, why has Humongous been paying me so much attention lately?" I asked desperately.

"Now that…" Gobber frowned. "That is strange."

I guess my offended look must've showed through, because Gobber quickly added, "He could honestly just like you, Hiccup – he has been looking out for you before he knew anything. But…I don't know…" Gobber gained a faraway look. "The way he looks at you sometimes, though…it's not…not ordinary."

"What exactly do you mean?"

"I…I don't mean it that way," Gobber assured me. "He just…he hangs around you a lot, like…like…" he hesitated.

"Like?" I pressed.

"Like…like he expects something," Gobber finally settled on. "Like he wants something from you."

"So, what did Stoick mean?" I pressed, eager to get information while Gobber remained in this generous mood. "It sounded like he began formulating a plan with you that day."

"The thing about…about taking you prisoner?" Gobber gave a weak chuckle. "He must've been joking, Hiccup…he explained it to me just yesterday and I assure you, he was kidding. There is no way a plan like that would work."

"What kind of plan was it, though?" I demanded.

"It's…uh…it's complicated," Gobber hedged. "And you've got a lot of work to do. I suggest you get back to it."


	10. Accepted

Starlight, Star Bright - The Story of a Fool, Through an Even Bigger Fool's Eyes

_What with a stranger washing up on Berk and taking a special interest in his son and news of Outcast activity reaching his ears, Stoick the Vast is uncharacteristically uneasy. Sequel to 'To Be Loved the Way You Love Me'._

Chapter 10: Accepted

**So...yeah. I move ahead a teenytiny bit. I got a lot of people who seemingly couldn't see the first version of this chapter due to technical difficulties. Well, thank God for that, I can tell you. The chapter was lazy and slow and did nothing for the story. So...I rewrote it. It still does nothing for the story, except to introduce a teeny bit more conflict. Astrid/Camicazi is now something to watch out for. Like, ew. NOT ROMANTICALLY NO STOP IT! I meant like, their rivalry.**

* * *

"So," I dropped into a chair at the kitchen table, drumming my fingers on the tabletop.

"So what?" Stoick stood from his chair and disappeared in the kitchen for a second. I heard the clinking of the cauldron over the fire and knew he must be cooking something.

I waited until he'd reappeared to continue. "So, uh, Gobber…" I glanced down at the tabletop. "Gobber's been telling me some things."

"What sort of things?" Stoick asked suspiciously, standing opposite me while gripping a wooden spoon in one hand. "Because trolls do not—

"It wasn't about trolls," I cut in. "I overheard you two talking the other day."

"Oh." Stoick drew a sharp breath. He dropped the spoon on the table and sat back down heavily. "You're gonna be okay. We're gonna protect you."

"No, that wasn't what I was getting at," I explained.

He blinked, momentarily wrong-footed. "Don't go feeling guilty about it, either, Hiccup—

"That wasn't it," I informed him, slightly louder and enunciating more this time.

"Alright," he nodded, obviously bracing himself for the worst. "Then?"

"You said something about how I couldn't be taken prisoner if I was already taken prisoner," I jumped in quickly, eager to get it out before he decided what he thought this was about again. "What did you mean?"

"Oh." Stoick took another slow, deep breath. "Hiccup, I…I don't know…nothing might come of it…I might not have to use the plan at all—

"I want to know," I insisted, opening my mouth to say more, but I got no farther, because there was a loud knock on the door to the hut.

Stoick rose from his seat, not looking at all sorry to discontinue the conversation. He walked into the living room and I heard the door being opened. A few words were exchanged before Stoick swore loudly. The door opened wider and I saw Stoick slip out of the house. Curious now as to what could be wrong, I rose, too, and followed him, to see him running out to the beach to meet a whole fleet of boats coming up to the docks.

Most of them were already docked and people were even beginning to climb off the biggest. When I saw one of the passengers, obviously the chief just from her air of natural authority and power, I gasped a little. Sure, Stoick and Gobber were big – but this woman had to be nine feet tall, at least.

In fact, she did stand just slightly taller than Stoick, I noted as she came up to him and prodded him in the stomach. "Good to see you again, you Hooligan bunny rabbit!" she greeted joyfully.

I had never seen Stoick let an insult go unnoticed, except when the insult came from Gobber and even then, he would normally have a 'look-to-the-source' type expression. His face relaxed into a warm smile, however, and he ignored her insult.

"Are you ready to get flattened in the mud-wrestling competition again?" the woman asked cheerfully. I glanced around at her fleet, noticing the similar markings on all of them and immediately knowing that they had to be the Bog-Burglar tribe.

So the woman in front of me had to be…I screwed up my eyes and tried to remember…

_"I can't bear to see Bertha grinning smugly as she wins yet another round…"_

"I think it's us who'll be doing the flattening," Stoick retorted, folding his arms in mock annoyance.

"You can try," Bertha snorted, tossing her head proudly, before her eyes landed on me. "Who is this?"

"Oh…um…yes," Stoick looked like Bertha's question had brought him sharply back to reality. He looked around for me and spotted me standing next to his waist; I was kind of hoping his bulk would hide me, but clearly I wasn't going to be that lucky today.

He pushed me forward slightly, obviously sensing what I was trying to do. "Go on," he encouraged me quietly, giving me a gentle prod between the shoulder blades. "This is my son, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third."

"Oh," Bertha's bright smile returned suddenly. "That explains that."

And just like that, she stuck her hand out for me to shake. "How do you do, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third?"

She didn't ask questions. She just accepted it, like that.

I wondered, for a brief moment, if I would ever get used to instant acceptance.

I shyly accepted the shake and her face split into a wide grin. "Don't take your father's losses too personally this year, Hiccup. I hope there won't be any hard feelings?"

"He'll have to watch out for himself," announced another, slightly quieter voice and a girl with tangled blonde hair and the sparkle of mischief in her bright blue eyes appeared suddenly. She was clad all in black and held a dagger and two swords; she thrust all three weapons in her belt and continued speaking. "We always cream the Hooligans at Smashsticks-on-Ice."

She offered me a friendly, bright smile and stuck out a hand for me to shake as well. "My name's Camicazi, heir to the Bog-Burglars and the master escaper."

"You Bog-Burglars are always so pleased with yourselves," came a scathing voice on my right; when I looked around, Astrid was standing there glaring at Camicazi. "The master escaper." she repeated, putting finger quotes around the last two words.

"Still sore from last year's loss, I take it, Astrid?" Camicazi grinned mischievously.

"No," Astrid seethed, "unlike some, I can lose with grace."

"Was that meant to be an insult on me?" Camicazi demanded, like she was daring Astrid to repeat herself.

"Well, I don't know," Astrid replied, in a voice dripping with sarcastic sweetness. "Do you see anyone else standing here?"

Camicazi took the dagger out of her belt again, toying with it. "I think," she sang, "that the reason the Hooligans are losing every year is because they're going _soft_…"

Astrid started forward with a growl, balling her fists.

"Wait a second," I reluctantly planted my foot in the crossfire, knowing nobody else was paying enough attention, "Astrid, calm down. We all know the Hooligans aren't going soft—

A loud laugh from somewhere to my right made me look up and I saw Bertha and Stoick were still talking, joking like two friends; it was surprising to see the friendliness between two tribes, as the Vikings were normally known for their blood feuds.

"I mean, think of it," Camicazi said carelessly, like she didn't know how dangerous Astrid could be when she was mad, "Stoick the Vast didn't even notice me last year in the pick-pocketing competition!"

"You guys have a pick-pocketing competition?" I said, surprised out of my desire to make peace.

"Stoick the Vast had a lot of things on his mind last year!" Astrid yelled hotly. "He probably didn't have time to watch out for annoying little—

"Annoying little whats?" Camicazi bellowed, taking a few steps closer to Astrid. I guess the effect was supposed to be intimidating, but in my opinion, Camicazi was a little too short for it to come across that way. She was shorter even than me and I was five feet, two inches, no lie.

She jammed her hands on her hips and repeated herself. "Annoying little whats, Astrid?"

Astrid pressed her lips together; it was clearly taking all of her self-control not to haul off and smack the girl. She started to turn away.

"Oh, yeah, that's what I thought," Camicazi jeered. "See? The Hooligans are going soft. They can't even finish an insult properly anymore."

Astrid's back stiffened.

"Wait," I said quickly, sensing the danger signs, "why don't we do something else? Um…uh…" my eyes scanned the crowd, looking for an adult from the Hooligan tribe who could help me out of this. My eyes landed on Helga, who wasn't greeting anyone. I waved at her enthusiastically and she came over with a smile. She'd been on pretty good terms with me ever since last summer. "No trouble, girls?" she looked between Camicazi and Astrid, seeing them standing eye-to-eye and toe-to-toe.

"Oh. Um. Yes." Astrid instantly snapped out of it and offered Helga a quick smile. I shot Helga a grateful look and she gave me a knowing smile in return; this probably wasn't the first time Astrid had picked a fight with Camicazi.

Helga started chatting with Camicazi and Astrid, keeping them entertained long enough to make them forget their former argument and allowing me to look around at the crowd again. I noticed Stoick was still talking with Bertha and the other teens had been joined by some of the Bog-Burglars.

Snotlout offered me a smile and a wave and Fishlegs motioned for me to join them. I glanced back worriedly at Astrid and Camicazi, but Helga had them interested in her story, so I took the chance to walk away.

When I got there, Snotlout pointed to each of the girls in turn as he introduced them. "This is Halla, Melkorka, Skur and Thora."

Halla smiled at me when Snotlout introduced me, her black hair falling around her shoulders in waves and going well with her olive skin. Melkorka sneered and flicked a piece of dark brown hair out of her eyes. Skur twirled a strand of white blonde locks around her finger and rolled her eyes and Thora blushed, offering a shy smile that was nearly hidden as she dropped her head to hide her face with her bright red curls.

I purposely avoided Melkorka's eye and offered a smile instead to Halla and Thora, who seemed the friendliest.

Even as Snotlout drifted back into his conversation, I drifted over to Halla, feeling that warmth within me again, just like I had when Bertha didn't ask questions, when she offered me her hand without asking. The warmth of acceptance.


	11. Good Luck

Starlight, Star Bright - The Story of a Fool, Through an Even Bigger Fool's Eyes

_What with a stranger washing up on Berk and taking a special interest in his son and news of Outcast activity reaching his ears, Stoick the Vast is uncharacteristically uneasy. Sequel to 'To Be Loved the Way You Love Me'._

Chapter 11: Good Luck

**A/N: Well, here it is! I hope I kept everybody in-character, except the OCs. You don't have to worry about OCs. Melkorka is the most evolved OC I have so far for this story xD**

**Anyway...yeah, book characters, though...they're slightly more slippery than movie. I've been writing movie longer. **

**I hope I kept Stoick in-character as well. He's really hard sometimes, but I hope I did him well enough! Did I? :D**

* * *

"Hiccup?" There was a loud knock on my door. "I know you're in there. Come on out, it's time to play!"

I groaned and buried my head deeper into my pillow. My Viking helmet slid off my head with a small clunk, falling onto the wood. I ignored it and shut my eyes against the scratchy fabric of my pillow, hoping Stoick would go away.

It wasn't that his knocking had woken me up; I had been up for hours, in fact, but I had retreated into my room after being told the rules for the Smashsticks-on-Ice game to be played later that day – or should I say the lack thereof.

"I'm going to get creamed!" I shouted, resolutely sinking deeper into the bed.

"What?" the door opened and Stoick poked his head in. "Oh, come out, Hiccup! Really! The game isn't that bad!"

"I'm going to get creamed." I repeated, my voice slightly muffled by the effect of the pillow.

"Well…" Stoick sighed. "If you won't come out, I guess there's nothing I can do to get you out."

"Thank you." I huffed.

"Only…this is the first year I've had someone to root for in the game." The bed creaked as he sat down. "Normally, you're supposed to root for your child, but this is the first year my child will be in the game…or apparently, he won't be." he sighed. "It's alright. It's been like this for years."

I buried my head in my pillow, trying not to listen, but hearing his words made me feel guilty. I reluctantly sat up, smoothing down my hair and grabbing my helmet again, setting it down on the floor. "If it'll make you feel better, I'll play," I mumbled.

When I looked up, Stoick did have a faraway look on his face and that made me feel even worse for making this year hard on him in all the ways I had. Like Alvin the Treacherous and his band of Outcasts…and…I shifted guiltily on the bed and Stoick rested a hand on my shoulder. "Regardless," he said, like he was forcing himself to be cheerful, "c'mon." Then he added a small smile that looked genuine. "I knew that a guilt trip would get you out."

"You were trying to make me feel guilty?" I demanded, aggrieved and I protested the whole way to the arena, but I still went anyway, because deep down, I knew I ought to feel guilty.

When we made it to the arena, Stoick began going over the rules of the game and ended it with, "But of course, these are just rough guidelines. There are no actual rules."

And that was the rule that made me nervous. I clutched my Smashstick harder and gulped, looking around at all the other Vikings in the game, all so much bigger and tougher than me.

Camicazi, the girl from the Bog-Burglar tribe, danced over to the front of the line and waved Skur and Melkorka to the front.

Skur sighed, resting her chin on her Smashstick. She looked a little like Astrid: slight, pretty and soft, but one look at her in battle and you could tell she was an amazing fighter, no matter how delicate she looked.

Melkorka looked around at all of the Hooligans and sneered. "I hope you're all ready to become a stain on the ice," she threatened.

Astrid smirked. "I'd love to see you try."

"Let's get started!" Gobber announced, waving his prosthetic hand around. In his other hand, he clutched a small black puck. "Have both teams had a chance to go over their strategies?"

"Yes, sir!" Melkorka called out for her team.

Astrid turned to me and said in a low voice, "Alright, you and Tuffnut guard the goalpost, alright?" she gestured toward our goal.

"What about me?" Ruffnut demanded, leaning on her Smashstick.

"You'll be trying for the puck with me," Astrid told her.

Ruffnut smiled. "Sweet."

"Who made you captain of this team?" Snotlout demanded.

"I made myself captain, seeing as it's only under my rule that we ever have a hope of winning!" Astrid roared at him.

He mumbled something submissive.

"Good," Astrid nodded. "Now, you'll enter the scrum with me and Ruffnut, and…Fishlegs…" her gaze lingered for a long moment on Fishlegs, who began looking disappointed. "Um…you can…"

"Basically, you don't add much," Snotlout informed him.

Astrid leaned over and pressed her left boot onto his foot. He let out a squeal and leaned down to massage his toes. Astrid smirked before hurriedly trying to salvage Fishlegs' feelings. "You can…join the scrum."

"I don't know," Fishlegs muttered nervously. "I always mess up whenever I do…"

My eyebrows flew up when I heard him doubting himself. I guess I believed that if I grew muscles and became a real Viking, I'd never have a day's self-consciousness in my life. Looking at Fishlegs, I saw that it wasn't the case.

"Oh, c'mon," Astrid said encouragingly. "Who helped us cream the Bog-Burglars three years back? I mean, sure, it was a while ago," Astrid continued, "but it was the best win we've ever had and you were the main player in that game."

Fishlegs shot her a grateful smile and I looked at her appreciatively. She made a good team captain, I decided.

Astrid smiled at all of us one more time before Melkorka jabbed her in the shoulder. "Is your team done kissing and hugging? I think we're about to play."

"Oh, we're done kissing and hugging," Astrid assured her. "We are so done."

The whistle blew, piercingly loud, echoing all around. I caught Stoick's eye as I was skating over to the goalposts with Tuffnut. He smiled at me and gave me a thumbs-up, mouthing, "Good luck."

I clutched my Smashstick closer to myself, nervously hoping that's exactly what we'd have.


	12. Trance

Starlight, Star Bright - The Story of a Fool, Through an Even Bigger Fool's Eyes

_What with a stranger washing up on Berk and taking a special interest in his son and news of Outcast activity reaching his ears, Stoick the Vast is uncharacteristically uneasy. Sequel to 'To Be Loved the Way You Love Me'._

Chapter 12: Trance

**A/N: Yeah. **

* * *

Gobber tossed the puck in the air. It went spinning, end-to-end, in the sunlight for a second or two before falling back to earth and hitting the ice with a crack.

There were a few thuds and grunts as people got hurt in the scrum and I clutched my Smashstick nervously, sincerely hoping it was nobody on our side.

A few people did emerge from the scrum with black eyes and broken noses, but the game didn't stop; Fishlegs came out on top, the puck in one hand. "I got it!" he rejoiced.

"Go, Fishlegs, go!" Astrid shouted from the middle of the scrum, one hand wrapped around Thora's wrist in an attempt to keep her from getting it.

Fishlegs skated around Runa, a dark-haired Bog-Burglar and accidentally went flying into Kadlin, who was guarding the goalposts, taking her down with him. By some miracle, the puck glanced off the toe of his boot and went flying into the goal.

"GOAL!" cried Gobber, who was acting as referee.

Fishlegs glanced up, dazed, holding his head. "What? I…I scored? I scored?" He looked so surprised that I kind of felt sorry for him. And then he jumped up, grinning ear to ear. "I scored!" he announced.

Kadlin sat up and groaned, rubbing her head.

"Oh…sorry," Fishlegs looked sheepish as he offered her his hand. She pulled herself up and smiled.

"Oh, it's all right," she told him quietly. "It's just a rough game."

"C'mon!" Gobber cried from the middle of the ice, where he stood with his arms crossed. "This is _not_ a time-out, alright?"

Kadlin and Fishlegs both went bright red and released each other's hands. Fishlegs skated surprisingly gracefully back over to where the rest of the players had congregated and readied himself for the scrum.

"You did fantastic, Fishlegs!" Astrid cheered, leaning on her Smashstick.

Fishlegs grinned shyly.

Gobber held the newly retrieved puck in one hand and he threw it up in the air. It hit the ice with a dull thud and the scuffle began again.

* * *

By the end of the game, there were three broken noses, fourteen black eyes, a missing hatchet, a small blaze that Bertha put it out with her foot, a couple broken teeth and several swearwords still hanging in the air.

The Hooligans were absolutely crazy with excitement; for the first time in three years, they'd won a game. I was excited, too, but after awhile, they broke out the mead and the loud yelling and I decided I had to escape. As I darted out, I realized two other people had had the same idea as me: Camicazi and Stoick, who were sitting on the steps leading to the Great Hall in companionable silence. I sat between them for a couple seconds, letting the silence fill the air.

Camicazi pulled out a dagger from her weapons belt and held it up to inspect it by the light of the dying sun. "I got this from Visithug Isle," she said quietly to me. "It's got a compartment for holding poison. See?" she unscrewed the tiny golden handle and showed off a small vial filled with purple liquid. She indicated the tiny, clear wire leading from the vial into the knife. "The poison travels on this course until it hits the tip of the knife and just one good scratch could have you on the ground in ten minutes."

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be impressed or freaked or threatened; I settled on impressed. "Wow."

"Yup," she told me with a nod.

"Eh, why don't you two go take a walk?" Stoick suggested. "The party will be ending soon and it's been a long night. Maybe you two ought to blow off some steam."

I really didn't need to, but his look told me to just go with it, so I did. Camicazi squealed and grabbed my hand, dragging me through the forest. "C'mon! C'mon! I know a place we can go! I came here last winter and everything was just frozen over and…"

I tuned her out for a couple seconds as she rambled, but when we reached the spot we did, I stopped cold. It was the lake and it was covered with a thin sheet of cracked ice – a memory of the last time we'd been there. So much else had been going on these past few days that I'd only thought about the ice dragon in any spare moment when I wasn't thinking about anything else. And now all the same fears came rushing back.

Camicazi pulled out her sword and began enthusiastically hacking at the ice with the hilt. The weakened ice protested strongly against her weight, but she didn't seem to care; she just kept right on hacking.

"Camicazi, no!" I hissed; I dithered for a second on the spot and at last ran out onto the ice with her, grabbing at her arm, trying to stop her sword from connecting with the ice. Unfortunately, I wasn't strong enough and she got a couple good hacks in before there was a loud thud and everything went still.

"Whoa, what was that?" Camicazi's eyes sparkled at the thought and she leaned down, wiping away the freshly fallen snow and trying to peer down into the depths.

"Camicazi, please." I pleaded. "It's not safe here. You could get hurt. C'mon, c'mon, let's go back to the bank."

"But I'm so close!" she protested. "I can see if the rumors are true!"

"What rumors?" I asked, a sinking feeling beginning in my heart.

"The rumors about the ice dragon!" she insisted. "Somebody told me that there was an ice dragon in the forest and I wanted to see if it was true."

"So you thought you were going to burst in here and smash up the thing's home and then try and make friends with it?"

"Of course not," she rolled her eyes. "I only wanted to see!"

"You need to stay away from here," I told her sternly, taking her by the arm and leading her back onto the bank. "That thing is dangerous."

"Oh, so you admit it's real!" she said in delight.

"Yes," I took a deep breath, "but, it's not good. You need to stay safe."

"But danger is my favorite thing!"

"Okay, maybe it is," I relented. "I still say we'd all be much happier if—

CRACK.

The ice cracked from side to side, unbelievably loud. A mist rose up from the center, where the largest crack was. Camicazi yelped in delight at seeing the ice crack – but I had seen it once before and I knew that whatever was coming next was not good.

"Run," I whispered.

I knew it was hopeless from the moment the thing burst out of the lake; hopeless for me, anyway. His gaze locked on mine, just like it had a few days back and once again, I was rendered helpless. I was frozen, standing there trapped in his gaze until he decided to strike.

As he dived towards us, my mind jammed back into action. "Camicazi, run!" I shouted as I frantically dodged the attack, tripping over my own feet and winding up on the worryingly thin ice, limbs sprawled all around me.

Camicazi didn't run; she stared up at the thing for a second, watching him slowly turn his head and once again fix his icy gaze on me.

"I am not leaving you!" she yelled stubbornly, drawing her sword. I knew from watching Humongous that weapons were hopeless against it; I tried to yell, to warn her, but before I could, the dragon attacked again, cool breath gently misting on my face as he dived. I threw myself to the side at the last second and his head slammed into the ice, breaking it apart. I screamed as I saw it cracking, the spider web of shatters spreading out towards me.

The dragon retreated for a second, thinking over his next move. And then he charged again and I tried to run, to get away. My prosthetic caught in one of the cracks, forcing me to fall again as the ice split apart for real, neatly in two halves, me on one, the dragon on the other.

The dragon roared his displeasure and flew over to my side, grabbing me and pinning me with one claw. I couldn't do anything, I couldn't think. All I could see were those heartless, pitiless, blank white eyes and I knew that he felt nothing for the struggling boy in his grasp. It was like he was in a trance, almost, like the dragon wasn't quite himself.

I stared up at him for a second and I knew with sudden certainty that Alvin had not sent this dragon. I knew that, through all of Alvin's torture, he did not have the power to place somebody in such a strong trance as this. "What do you want?" I called up to him. "Please. Tell me, who sent you?"

The dragon hissed at me, opening his mouth and letting cold breath gently touch my face, letting it coat me in cold. I shivered in his grasp, trying not to let it show. I tried not to think about the cracking ice, either. But surely the dragon's weight would just weaken it even more, wouldn't it?

The dragon let me shiver for a second or two and blew out slightly again, trying to keep me cold. He was trying to make sure I was freezing…

I wondered why. Most dragons like to play cat and mouse with their victims, I reasoned with myself as he slowly blew out for the third time. I shuddered with the cold, laying against the unforgiving hardness and coldness of the ice, trapped between two enemies.

"Wh-what do you w-want?" I called between chattering teeth.

The dragon roared at me, claws digging into me, tearing into my flesh and finding bone… I gritted my teeth as I felt him ripping into my clothes, ripping through my skin…

The pain seared up and down me in waves of agony, along with the pitiless cold that I couldn't get away from and that I would never get away from again. I would die in this icy terror.

The dragon slowly drew in a breath and it was like he was sucking all the warmth from the air. I shuddered, looking away as I felt the blast building up…

"C'MON, YOU STUPID THING!" Camicazi screamed, whacking it with the tip of the poison knife repeatedly.

The dragon roared angrily and then a very confused look overtook him.

Camicazi was actually on its back, I realized when I looked up. She was looking worried now as she thwacked him repeatedly and got nothing. And then the dragon simply slumped over, still breathing, a clear chest moving up and down.

I was suddenly free, but I wasn't sure if I could sit up. The blood was the only thing keeping me warm and it was rapidly drying upon contact with the air.

"That…was amazing!" Camicazi announced, grinning as she ran over to me. "That was just—

And then her smile slipped. "Hiccup…you're bleeding."

"I…" I looked down at myself; the blood had soaked through my clothes and turned the thin ice bright red. The crimson was still pouring off me and every time I tried to move, I felt another bolt of pain; a burning sensation, like hot metal between the ribs.

"Okay," Camicazi sounded remarkably calm. "Can you walk?"

"Yes, I think so," I whispered; that was the only sound my constricted voice could make. "I'll be okay."

"Alright, then get up," Camicazi ordered, turning away from me and picking up her sword. "I don't know how long that will keep that thing down, so we've got to get moving."

"I thought…you…you said," I whispered, crawling to my knees. I fell back with a whimper, holding my side and rocking slowly back and forth.

"Get up," she said and she hauled me up onto my feet. I bit my lip to stop it, but the cry burst forth anyway and I fell back onto the ice again.

"Look," Camicazi said gently, "I know it hurts, but you've got to work through it. You've had worse injuries before, right?" The way she looked at me convinced me she knew everything that had gone on at Outcast Island. The thought should've shamed me, but the pain was making everything blurry, including her face; I didn't have time to feel shame through the blinding pain.

"Yes," I admitted, each breath an effort. I took another slow breath, but it hurt too much; I barely kept myself on my feet.

"C'mon." she tugged my arm around her neck and gently put one hand around my waist; she didn't recoil at the feel of the blood, just walked onward, towards the village of Berk.

As the sun grew lower and lower in the sky, I felt my strength slipping, my vision turning blurrier and blurrier. I could barely see the path in front of me.

"Are you alright?" Camicazi whispered. "Hiccup? Are you alright?"

"Can we rest?" I asked. "Please."

"We have to get to the village."

"I know."

"I think a blizzard is coming."

"Please don't let it come, Thor…"

"C'mon. Get up, Hiccup." she tugged me back up onto my feet and that was the last thing I remember before I blacked out completely.


	13. Good Enough

Starlight, Star Bright - The Story of a Fool, Through an Even Bigger Fool's Eyes

_What with a stranger washing up on Berk and taking a special interest in his son and news of Outcast activity reaching his ears, Stoick the Vast is uncharacteristically uneasy. Sequel to 'To Be Loved the Way You Love Me'._

Chapter 13: Good Enough

**A/N: Okay...okay. okay. So. Yeah. What is it with me and my love for half-conscious Hiccup and fatherly!Stoick? xD **

* * *

I woke up several times, because everything passed by in a blur, but I never stayed awake for long.

The first thing I registered when I woke up for good was cold. All I remembered, all I could feel, ice all around, breath misting the side of my face…

"C-cold," I whimpered through chattering teeth. "Cold."

"I know." whispered a quiet voice at my side. "I know."

A hot flash of pain rippled through me, tearing at my ribs and slicing through my skin, worse than the numbing cold…

I whimpered again as it spread everywhere. "Hurt."

"I know."

"Lots of blood."

"Shh. Hiccup, sleep."

"No. Hurt."

"I know. We're working on it, you're gonna be okay." There was a warm, soothing hand on my forehead and Stoick the Vast appeared above me, slightly blurry. "Please be okay." There were tears shining in the corners of his eyes and somewhere in my addled brain I knew that couldn't be right: Stoick the Vast never cried.

I kept staring up at him as he pulled blanket after blanket over me and I snuggled down into the warmth, sure to fall asleep soon now that I was getting so warm and comfortable. But…I didn't want to leave just yet. I clutched Stoick's hand a little tighter, with a strength I didn't even know I had. "I'm okay."

He rubbed a hand across my cheek. "Please."

"I'm okay," I tried to speak louder this time and it only tore my throat. Wincing, I reached up to put a hand to my neck, to feel it, to see if it was injured…

And then something tore, something sharp and hard and icy, like I was literally tearing folds of skin apart at the seams.

I let out a small moan, dropping my hand back down at my side.

The darkness tugged at me, wanting me to surrender. I clung stubbornly on for a few seconds, wanting to feel Stoick's hand on mine, comforting fingers caressing my forehead as I struggled to remember everything.

I knew I had been hurt, but what I couldn't remember was why or how. Had it been Alvin? I glanced up at Stoick, wanting to ask but wary of the answer. The simple movement hurt so badly that I cried out.

"Hiccup." he whispered, putting one hand on my back. He used the other hand to brush a few sweaty strands of hair off my forehead. His hand was warm on my bare skin and I leaned into the touch, savoring it. A few hours ago, I had been convinced that I'd never remember heat. Here I was, wrapped in layers of it.

Stoick gently eased his hand off my back when I made no more protests, but I clutched weakly at his fingers, whimpering as every movement seemed to only tear the skin more. "Don't let me go," I whispered, easing myself back down onto the bed. "Dad, don't let go."

His gaze softened.

My mind registered that I had said something wrong, but I couldn't think what. When nothing raised any instant alarm bells, I allowed my eyes to close, surrendering quite happily now to the exhaustion.

Just before the darkness overtook me again, Stoick's warm hand found mine and he squeezed it tightly. "Don't worry. I never will."

* * *

I awoke to voices.

"Is he alright?"

"He should be."

"What happened?"

"I'm not completely sure."

"It was that ice dragon, wasn't it?"

"I didn't say that."

"I'm not stupid."

"Could've fooled me."

"Stoick, the lad's only just now getting color back. When I saw him, he was white as bone and ice cold. There's only one explanation for that."

"You seem very well informed on how an ice dragon attacks, Humongous," Stoick snapped, his grip on my hand loosening before vanishing completely.

I opened my eyes unwillingly, looking around for the arguing pair. And I found them.

Stoick had stood from his chair, glaring at Humongous and Humongous was glaring right back.

"Are you suggesting I sent that ice dragon after him?" Humongous demanded coldly.

"I'm not suggesting anything," Stoick replied through white lips, in a voice that clearly said that yes, yes he was.

"_I'm_ doing _everything_ I can to keep the lad safe," Humongous informed Stoick angrily, fingering the hilt of his sword. His words seemed to carry a darker meaning, especially with the emphasis he'd placed on 'I'm' and 'everything'.

Stoick's large hands clenched into fists and, as if by habit, his fingers slipped to the hilt of his own sword. "Are you suggesting that I don't look after Hiccup enough?"

"I'm not suggesting anything," Humongous said, throwing Stoick's words back in his face. "Although, you must admit, he seems to get hurt an awful lot under your care."

"That has got nothing to do with me," Stoick retorted angrily. He was speaking in a whisper, but I could tell it was a struggle for him to not let his voice rise. "I look after him as best I can!"

"Are you sure about that?" Humongous actually drew his sword now. "I know it's been an awful long time since you've seen this son of yours. Are you sure you still want him?"

"Are you—?" Stoick was clearly too angry to even talk; words could not express the hatred showing on his face. He drew his sword, too, but he cast it aside the instant it touched his hand; he curled his hands into fists instead and took several long steps closer to Humongous.

"You listen to me right now," he hissed between tightly clenched teeth. "Whatever you think of me, whatever you might say about me, know this: that boy means the world to me. My son is my world. If you think I don't care about him, you are wrong. I am keeping him as safe as I can, I'm doing my best! I love him and I am trying to show him that through everything I do."

There was a ringing silence after Stoick spoke.

Humongous studied his sword for a long moment. "I'm sorry," he stated, very calmly and very boldly, "but your best isn't good enough."

For a second, Stoick stood absolutely still. And then he whispered, "Get out of my home."

"I'm not being mean," Humongous said quickly. "I truly feel bad for you, Stoick, for I know you can't keep him safe. You can't do it on your own. You need somebody. You need somebody to look after him."

"Thor knows he needs looking after!" Stoick burst out suddenly. "But I find it ridiculous, laughably so, that you would pretend to know that."

"I know he needs looking after," Humongous replied steadily, "because I'm a Hero for Hire. Every distress call I get…" he shuddered. "The last father who called me looked like you. Desperate. Desperate to get his son back." he stared into the crackling fire for a moment, lost in his own thoughts. "I don't want you to reach that point, Stoick. I would like to help you and I would like to protect your son. But you have to admit that you need somebody else. I don't care who you are; you could be Grimbeard the Ghastly, for all I care, but I know you can't do it on your own. You need somebody. You need me."

Stoick looked at him for a second, like he was considering. He blew out a small breath. "Very well. Your idea carries sense." Then he muttered under his breath, "About the only thing about you that does."

"What was that?" Humongous asked cheerfully, having heard perfectly well. He gave Stoick a polite nod and strode to the door. "Is this a definite then, that I shall look after your son?"

"Give me a few days," Stoick whispered. "I need to consider."


End file.
